Ninja Wizard II: Chamber of Secrets
by David4
Summary: Rewrite of the CoS chapters from my original fic.  Harry is a ninja.  Voldie and the De's are in trouble.  Harry and Hermione become friends.
1. A New Year

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 01

By David

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter characters are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling. I am writing this fic strictly for fun.

Author's Notes: I am doing a rewrite of 'Ninja Wizard' that I wrote a few years ago. One of the biggest mistakes I made was doing 'Chamber of Secrets' in just two chapters! This time round I am doing it justice, with newer material and more action. Please review, and be kind in your comments. Feel free to point out any mistakes I make or just comment in general. Us authors do listen to comments and reviews, it tells us that folks are reading our stories. Having said that, please enjoy.

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 01

"A New Year"

The first sign of potential trouble was the house elf standing in the middle of the living room of the flat he was staying in, courtesy of the goblins at Gringotts. Harry stood there in the doorway of the bedroom in just his fundoshi having gotten out of the bath. One moment there was nothing there and then the next there it was. Before Harry had a chance to react the elf threw up its hands.

"Dobby come to warn Harry Potter!" the elf cried out, and Harry moved out of the doorway, still holding onto the slender throwing knife.

"Harry Potter is in mortal danger if he goes to Hogwarts!" Dobby cried out once more as he trembled in obvious fear.

The elf was terrified of something and Harry had to find out what.

"I'm in danger of what?" Harry asked as he slowly approached the elf.

"Terrible thing!" Dobby squeaked once more. "I cannot say! I am forced to keep Master's secrets!"

"You need to tell me, Dobby. What is the danger?" Harry spoke softly, not wanting to scare off Dobby.

"Dobby wants to tell but can't," he began to sob, great tears rolling down his face.

This master of his must be DE, Harry immediately thought.

"Harry Potter must promise not to go back to Hogwarts!" Dobby whimpered. "If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts he will die!"

Okay, that was more than enough to really get Harry's attention. Harry really needed to know now, so he decided to try and reason with the elf named Dobby.

"Dobby, I have to go back to Hogwarts if I am to become a great wizard. Can you tell me why I can't go back? I promise you I'll tell the headmaster Dumbledore," Harry attempted to bargain with Dobby.

Dobby shook his head violently as he cut loose with fresh tears. "I can't!" he howled. "Master will kill me! Harry Potter must not go!"

Harry was more than a little bit spooked by now. The deranged elf was losing control.

"HARRY POTTER WILL NOT GO!" Dobby shouted at Harry.

Harry raised his hands and slowly backed off. The elf was on the verge of flipping out.

"I will stop Harry Potter from going. Harry Potter will understand," the trembling and crying elf said softly and then popped away before Harry could say anything else.

Harry went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea and turned the situation that had just occurred over in his mind. He slowly sipped the tea as he tried to make heads and tails out of it. Eventually he put the problem away into a drawer of the filing cabinet he kept in his head and labeled the drawer 'Dobby'. He washed out the cup and then headed back to the bedroom to finish getting dressed for the day. He was headed back to Hogwarts this morning and needed to be at platform nine and three quarters before eleven as the train was due to depart then. Harry pulled on a pair of faded blue jeans, a black t-shirt, strapped on his wand holder to the inside of his left forearm, put on a light blue long sleeved button up shirt leaving it unbuttoned, pulled on tabi socks and then his black tabi boots. He went to the dresser and strapped on his Japanese Navy Seal dive watch, reached for his jade dragon pendant and put it on round his neck. Harry studied his reflection in the mirror for a moment and decided he was ready to go. He went out into the living room and found his pack by the door to the flat he had been staying in that he had packed last night before going to bed and made sure everything was in there. Then he reached for the door to open it and discovered it wouldn't open. Dobby had been as good as his word to stop Harry. Harry smiled at the first attempt. He brushed a finger over the Potter Family ring he wore and whispered the password that would get him into Gringotts bank that was just down the street. As the portkey took effect Harry's vision swam for a few seconds and what had been the living room now became the portkey point for Gringotts bank. It had worked.

Harry walked out of the bank into the warm summer morning. He checked his watch and noted the time. He was supposed to meet Hermione and her parents at the rail station. He walked through the Leaky Cauldron and out into London. He hailed a cab at the cabstand, the cab sliding to a stop in front of him. Harry got into the back.

"Good morning, the rail station at King's Corner please," Harry informed the driver where he needed to go.

"A good morning to you, young sir. Gonna be a warm one again today," the cabbie remarked as he floored it and shot out into traffic.

Harry braced himself as the cab went flying down the street. He wondered if this guy had ever been on the Knight Bus. Harry gave the guy twenty pounds for getting him there in one piece. Harry swung his pack onto his back and entered the rail station. He glanced up at the big clock and it was now ten to eleven. Harry made his way to the barrier and on the way there bumped into Hermione and the Grangers.

"Hi Harry!" Hermione called out.

Harry grinned as he saw them. The day just got better. Harry walked up to them and greeted them. "Hi, Hermione, Dr. and Mrs. Granger."

"Good morning Harry," Dan shook his hand. "Ready for the new school year?"

"Sure," Harry said. "I'm hoping it will be a good one."

They talked as they headed down to the barrier. Harry saw a number of wizards and witches going through the barrier until he was sure that he and Hermione would be the last ones through. Harry walked up to it and put up his left hand to go through it and didn't. The barrier had closed. Harry stepped back and tried again. Hermione was next and she had no luck either. Harry looked up at the clock and it was now two minutes to eleven. Hermione tried again and still no luck. Harry quietly cursed knowing Dobby was the cause of their not getting through.

"Retreat," Harry called out and they moved off to a nearby bench.

Harry glanced at the clock, it was now one minute past. They had missed the train.

"What do we do now, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry sighed. "Simple. We retreat to the Leaky Cauldron, write letters to McGonagall and Flitwick, send them by owl, and hope they reply."

The three Grangers agreed to the plan and they led Harry back to their Range Rover. Harry liked the Range Rover because it was a sturdy and dependable car. Harry helped Dan get Hermione's trunk back into the back and they climbed in. Harry relaxed as they drove out of there for the Leaky Cauldron. They took a booth once they got there and both Harry and Hermione wrote their respective letters and took them to the owl post office inside the alley and sent them off. Now all they had to do was wait. Harry saw this opportunity as a chance to get to know Hermione.

"How was your summer?" Harry asked her as they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to wait.

"It was lovely. We went to the south of France for a few weeks," Hermione said and then gave him a rundown of what she saw.

Harry listened to what she had to say and she did have quite a bit to say.

"Sounds like you had a great time," Harry said when she finished her monologue.

"The Wizarding world there was just as interesting," Hermione said. "What did you do, Harry?"

Harry considered his events of the past three months and wisely kept quiet about most of it. "Oh, not much."

Hermione nodded and Harry was sure she wasn't buying that line. They reached the Leaky Cauldron and joined the Grangers in their booth. Old Tom was talking with them and it sounded like an interesting conversation. Tom excused himself when some people came into the bar. Dan turned his attention to Hermione and Harry.

"Letters sent off?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes Dad. Now we wait for a response."

"Hope it won't take too long," Dan said.

And it didn't.

It was perhaps a half hour later that a response from professor Flitwick arrived. Harry opened the letter. "Mr. Potter, you are to floo to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and then walk up to the school from there. The both of you are to report to me and Professor McGonagall on your arrival."

Hermione turned to her parents and told them what Hogsmeade was and where it was in relation to the castle. Harry shrunk her trunk and put it in his pack for her. It looked like a used trunk and that gave him an idea for a birthday present for Hermione. He smiled as he turned back to them.

"Ready for the ride Hermione?" he asked her. "Real simple. A sprinkle of the floo powder into the fire and when the fire turns green call out your destination and step right in. Won't get burned. You will get pulled right into the system and it will deliver you right to where you are going."

"Sounds simple," Dan said.

"It is," Harry agreed. "Right after you Miss Granger."

Hermione giggled and then followed Harry's directions to the letter and off she went.

"We'll send you a note when we get there," Harry said as he took his turn.

The floo system pulled him in and off he went on the ride to the Three Broomsticks. As he got to the end of the ride he remembered Flitwick's advice about riding the floo network and managed to come out into the Three Broomsticks on his feet.

"You made it, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed when he saw her.

"Fun ride," she commented and that drew a laugh from the onlookers.

Harry checked the time and nodded. It was barely going noon now. "Fancy a bit of lunch, Miss Granger?"

"Why of course, Mr. Potter," Hermione grinned.

Rosemerta appeared out of nowhere and showed them to a private booth in the corner and presented them with menus. They ordered lunch and then spent the next hour there trading life stories. Harry was careful to modify his so as to not give up any secrets. The time wasn't right for that and Harry wanted to be sure of her before giving up any of his secrets to her. She would have to learn how to protect her mind first, and Harry had the feeling that wouldn't be so hard to do.

As it was now coming up on one they needed to get to the castle. Harry and Hermione stopped in at the Hogsmeade owl post office and sent out an owl to Hermione's parents to let them know they were just fine. As they strolled up to the castle they continued their conversation and Harry was discovering that Hermione shared quite a few opinions that Harry held on certain subjects, two of them being about Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley. Other shared opinions were about History of Magic, Runes, Arithmancy, and life in general. By the time they reached the castle they had a good start on their friendship. Harry turned to one of the portraits and asked the lady there if there were any messages from Flitwick and or McGonagall.

"Of course, young man. You and the lady are to go see them in McGonagall's office," the lady informed them.

"Thank you gentle lady," Harry bowed.

They headed up the stairs to McGonagall's office and found the professors in McGonagall's office.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, at last!" Flitwick exclaimed.

Harry smiled. "You look well, sir. Holiday agree with you?"

"It did, Mr. Potter, very well. Very rested and ready to take on new challenges," Flitwick stated.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," McGonagall greeted the both of them. "According to your letters, the both of you were unable to get through the barrier."

Harry set his pack on the floor and sighed as Hermione took a chair.

"Yes, that's what happened. But the story does start with me," Harry said and then informed them of his encounter with Dobby and his morning so far. "So that's why we retreated back to the Leaky Cauldron to write the both of you and ask for advice."

"Well done Mr. Potter. Twenty points for Ravenclaw for handling the situation well," Flitwick said.

"And you as well, Miss Granger. Well done," McGonagall said. "The train isn't due for a few hours yet so why don't the both of you go and settle in?"

Hermione led Harry to Gryffindor Tower and showed him the commons room. Harry liked the looks of it and got her trunk out and expanded it. One of the Hogwarts elves popped up and took Hermione's trunk to her second year dorm. They agreed to meet at the great hall just before the Welcoming Feast and Harry headed to Ravenclaw Tower go get himself settled in. He set up his trunk at the foot of his four poster bed and then went down inside the trunk to make sure everything was still in place, and they were. He grabbed a cold ginger ale from the refrigerator and went to his war room to move the Dobby memory to his Pensieve for further study later on. He put the memory of Gilderoy Lockhart into the Pensieve and photographed it. Harry went to the Hogwarts staff wall and removed Quirrell's picture from the wall and replaced it with Lockhart. He stepped back and studied the picture for a moment and then picked up a marker and wrote a few things on the wall next to the picture. First word was conman. Harry had the feeling that Lockhart was a con artist, all flashy and a showoff. Harry perched on the corner of his worktable and stared at the picture for a bit and then sighed. He had the distinct feeling that this was going to be an interesting year.

Harry went down to the great hall slightly before the appointed time to meet Hermione. He had napped for about two hours, as he knew it would be late before he got to bed and he wanted to be rested for the evening. Harry removed his long sleeved shirt in exchange for his Ravenclaw robe after using the bathroom to freshen up a bit. He left the robe open and headed down to the great hall. Just as he walked up to the doors, a snarling Professor Snape emerged.

"Good evening professor," Harry said respectfully.

Snape stopped and glared at Harry for a moment before softening up a little. "A good evening to you, Mr. Potter."

"Have a good summer holiday sir?" Harry asked.

"It was… productive," Snape said slowly.

Harry beamed. "That's great, sir! Make any new discoveries in potions?"

Snape's left eyebrow went up. Perhaps Potter wasn't like his father after all.

"Possibly, I am watching a potion at the moment," he revealed.

"What is it going to do sir?" Harry asked.

"I am attempting to improve the potion that neutralizes the effects of the Crucio Curse," Snape informed Harry.

"Yes, I've read about that particular curse, sir. A real nasty one," Harry said.

"It is, Mr. Potter, a very nasty one," Snape found himself agreeing with Harry.

Harry nodded. "Good luck with the research sir."

Snape inclined his head. "Thank you Mr. Potter. I do believe that Miss Granger is waiting for you inside."

Snape swept off towards the dungeons and back to his potions. Harry turned and entered the great hall to find it brightly decorated for the Welcoming Feast. Harry went to his table as the first group of students arrived. The noise level in the hall grew as people filed in and joined their house tables. A few minutes later McGonagall walked up the steps onto the stage where the head table was. The hall grew quiet.

"Good evening. In a few moments the first years will be joining us for their sorting. As they will be joining your house we do ask that all of you older student try to assist them in getting used to being here," she said and motioned to the double doors in the back to let in the new students.

The doors creaked open wide and the first years walked in up to the half way point between two of the tables. McGonagall turned to the hat and tapped the brim. The hat slowly came to life and stretched. He turned left and right to look round the room and then a slight smile crossed its face. Dumbledore just groaned, as he knew what the hat was going to do this year and he was right. The hat did his song in opera style, getting a laugh from people. Dumbledore sighed once the hat was done and it turned round and smirked at Dumbledore. Then he turned back to face the hall and went to work sorting the first years. This year there was a good balance of first years in all of the houses. Dumbledore stood up and approached the podium.

"Good evening to all," he began his speech. "I am delighted to see the new students here, welcome to all of you, and I am happy to see the students returning for another year. First thing I would like to do is to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart."

The girls in the hall swooned and a lot of the older boys growled at that. Apparently Harry wasn't alone in his opinion of Lockhart.

"I need to remind all that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden to go into, as there are very dangerous creatures in there," Dumbledore said.

Harry couldn't agree fast enough.

"I have asked the prefects to deliver the rest of the announcements later. So having said that, let the feast begin," and Dumbledore waved his hands over the hall.

Gasps of surprise were heard as all kinds of food appeared. The evening was off to a good start. At the tail end of dessert Dumbledore stood up and the hall went quiet, wondering what was up.

"As this is Saturday night and classes formally start Monday morning, I thought a little dance would be nice to start the year off. So I went and hired a little band to come and entertain us. Do enjoy," Dumbledore waved his hand at the red velvet curtain covering the stage right and it opened to reveal a band. They kicked off the dance with an old muggle disco tune and the evening went from there. Harry did get the chance to dance a few times with some of the girls there and danced with Hermione a few times too. By the time eleven rolled around people were ready to call it a night. The band ended the evening with one last slow dance.

Sunday started off with a late breakfast going from nine to eleven. Harry did a hard workout to try and burn off all those calories consumed from the feast last night. He went down to the great hall for a late breakfast and got his copy of the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. The only thing that was worth noting was last night's Welcoming Feast and the dance afterwards. Harry was feeling a bit lazy but he didn't want to stay in as it looked like a really nice day out. He went back to his dorm in the Ravenclaw Tower and got into his black Speedos, a tank top, shorts, and flip flops. He grabbed a small bag and tossed his towel, sun block, and a new book he was reading and headed out to the beach down at the lake.

"Hey Potter, where you heading?" someone called out.

Harry stopped at the door. "Going down to the lake. Too nice to be indoor today."

Harry left the Ravenclaw Tower and went down to the beach at the lake, unaware that Dumbledore was watching him. The old man stood there for a time watching Harry walking towards the lake. He turned around and went back into his office and took the big chair that resembled more like a throne behind his desk. It made him feel powerful sitting on it. He reveled in the glorious feeling it gave him and he laughed for a moment and then turned his mind to the problem of Harry Potter.

"Oh my dear boy, whatever shall I do with you?" Dumbledore said out loud. "You certainly are becoming a problem, and those damned goblins at Gringotts certainly messed things up for me discovering my plan to dismantle the Potter Estate. I will need a new plan to get the rest of their money, and a plan to avoid Bones should she find out. Perhaps she needs to have an 'accident'. Shouldn't be too hard to arrange."

He laughed out loud and Fawkes shivered from the evil he sensed coming from Dumbledore. He was seriously reconsidering his decision to be Dumbledore's familiar. The pictures hanging on the wall of past headmasters and head mistresses were horrified by Dumbledore's words, but there wasn't a thing they could do about it as Dumbledore hexed them all to never speak of what went down in his office. Once more he did not see the elf dressed in black slip away. The elf had much to report to his master.

Harry dropped his bag on the grass just above the sand and stripped off his tank top and kicked off his sandals. He turned to the dock and jogged down it and did a dive into the water and when he surfaced struck out for the floating platform fifty feet away. By the time he got there the first couple of Ravenclaws were showing up by the lake. Harry got out of the water and sat there on the floating platform and watched more people show up. It didn't take long for the majority of Hogwarts to show up, get settled down, get the volleyball nets set up, and start having fun. The giant squid that lived in the lake came up to the surface and a group of the first years swam out to it and started sliding down its tentacles while it used another one to gently drop the first years into the water. Harry laughed at their enthusiasm at the game. He stood up and dived back into the water and headed back to the shore. He did a few laps out to the floating platform and back to the docks a few times and then sat in the shallow water and watched the other kids having fun. Harry noticed one little kid being a bit timid about going into the water.

"Do you know how to swim?" Harry asked the little boy.

He looked up. "I'm Sam, first year Hufflepuff. No I don't."

"Harry Potter, second year Ravenclaw. Can I teach you how to swim?" Harry asked Sam.

Sam brightened up. "Okay!"

Harry spent the next hour teaching Sam how to float on his back and to master the dog paddle. Once Sam got the hang of it Harry went up to his blanket and stretched out on a conjured lounger and retrieved his book from the bag and started reading. He heard laughter off to his left and looked up to see people playing with a chess set half the size they were. McGonagall would like that bit of transfiguration. He smiled and turned back to his book. From somewhere behind him someone started up a stereo and dance music was heard. Harry turned to look and a few of the muggleborns were dancing on the grass to the music. Harry turned back to his book and read a few chapters before dozing off. The call to lunch woke him up and he discovered the Hogwarts elves had set up a table with build it yourself burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches. That idea got a lot of approval from everybody there. Harry settled back down on his lounger with a pair of burgers. Hermione joined him with plate of food.

"Great idea of yours, Harry. It really is too nice to be indoors today, and it gives everybody a chance to relax a bit before starting the school year tomorrow," she said.

"I plan on doing this every weekend before it get too cold, and then keep on doing it in the room of requirement," Harry informed her. "We need a break from studies every now and then or we'll all go crazy."

They heard laughter and they looked over at the Weasley twins hamming it up again.

"Oops, too late," Harry said, cracking up Hermione.

Hermione looked at what Harry had been reading and that started a discussion over the contents of the book. Harry discovered that Hermione had some interesting ideas about things and their conversation drifted off into other directions. Harry did get back into the water and did a few laps more after Hermione got pulled into something else. The day ended when people started drifting back to the castle. The evening was fairly quiet, people scattered round the Ravenclaw common room talking in low quiet tones. Harry sat in one of the numerous overstuffed chairs scattered round the room and considered the recent events and Dobby as well. Ever since he had gotten back here to Hogwarts there hadn't been anymore of the strange occurrences that kept him from doing anything. Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy hadn't crossed his path yet and he considered that strange. It was barely the beginning of the year so he didn't count them out just yet. The only thing interesting from the Weasley Family was Ginny Weasley being sorted into Gryffindor. She was a bit shy around him and Harry wondered if she was one of those fangirls that pined after Harry, as he knew there were quite a few Harry Potter fangirls there. He sighed and then decided to call it a day.

Harry had worried for nothing as he heard Malfoy and Weasley yelling at each other the next morning as he approached the great hall for breakfast. He moved around the crowd that had formed around them to watch the newest confrontation between them and went into the hall. He watched McGonagall heading out to confront those two and turned back to his table. Flitwick stepped up to Harry and handed him his schedule for the year.

"No electives this year, Harry?" Flitwick asked.

Harry shook his head. "Nope. I really don't have any interesting in divination and care of magical creatures. I rather focus on the things that will benefit me."

"Good man," Flitwick said. "I can tell you for a fact that second year charms will be a challenge for you as you will be learning some new spells there."

"You do teach a good class sir," Harry complemented Flitwick.

"Thank you Mr. Potter," Flitwick smiled. "By the way, I like your new look."

Harry reached up to touch his earrings. "Thanks. You are the only one who's noticed and said something to me about them. I kind of like them too."

Someone else showed up and Flitwick went to talk to them. Harry turned back to the paper and his breakfast. Harry had wondered if Dumbledore had seen them yet and the old man had. Dumbledore had, and so did other people. The word slowly got around the castle about them and people were looking at Harry closely to see them. Dumbledore decided to have words with Harry over them. He met Harry outside the great hall as Harry left the hall to go get his books for his first class of the day being transfigurations.

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore called to Harry as Harry walked past him. "A word with you, please."

Harry had a feeling what it was going to be about and followed Dumbledore into a room close by the hall. The door closed behind him.

"Harry my boy," Dumbledore began. "I am most concerned about you as it seems that you are going dark."

"Not that again!" Harry exclaimed. "I am not going dark!"

"Then why the earrings?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry leaned against the wall next to the door. "Because I like the idea of wearing them. They aren't just for girls to wear. Boys wear them too. I like these plain gold hoops, as they are the best ones to wear and not the more outlandish ones. This is as far as I go. There won't be anything else. Wearing them and the tattoo doesn't make me dark. What makes a person dark is the intent they carry in their hearts. People have to choose what road they are going to walk. Why should I walk the dark path when it was responsible for the deaths of my parents?"

That bit of logic knocked Dumbledore back for a loop. Deep down he knew that Harry was right but he was too stubborn to admit it.

"I'm sorry sir, but I need to get to class," Harry said, heading for the door.

Dumbledore fell back on his most trusted tactic. Sending somebody on a guilt trip.

"I wonder how your parents would react to this, Harry. I imagine they would be disappointed in you and ashamed of you," Dumbledore attacked.

Harry stopped at the door and turned around to face Dumbledore. "I really wish you would leave my parents out of this, headmaster. Stop trying to send me on a guilt trip. I imagine that my parents would be truly angry with you for doing this, for attacking me with your guilt trips. As nicely as I can say it, please leave me alone."

And with that, Harry walked out of there and closed the door behind him. Dumbledore stood there for a time, shocked that Harry had turned his attack back around on him. Dumbledore sat down in a squishy chair and sighed. What to do now?

Of course Harry's first day in class wasn't without words of wisdom from the great Ron Weasley whose aim in life was to make Harry's life miserable.

"I see the dark lord wannabe is back," Ron's opening salvo was fired at Harry. "So what's with the earrings, Potter? Turning queer?"

"Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall's voice carried through the room. "What is the meaning of that kind of talk?"

Ron sneered at Harry, obviously thinking that he'd succeeded in getting Harry into trouble. "He's wearing earrings, Professor McGonagall. Only queers wear them."

"Mr. Weasley, I'll have you know that there are a number of wizards who wear them, my late brother included, and he is more wizard and man than you will ever be. Twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention with me for such talk. I think a letter home to your mother is in order," McGonagall informed Ron, as he turned pale.

Harry wondered what that was about and watched the other Gryffindors in the room hiss at Ron. McGonagall leaned in for a better look at Harry's earrings. "At least they are in good taste. Those fit you well."

That really surprised Harry. He took his seat as McGonagall headed to the front of the class and started off the school year with a talk about what was to be accomplished. Harry took notes and asked a few questions about certain things she said. Other people followed Harry's example and asked really good questions too, which made her happy. By the end of the day Harry felt he had accomplished something. He went over his notes during dinner and a few owls appeared delivering things and letters to various people, and one owl in particular caught his attention. It was carrying a large red envelope. Harry knew from his reading and having seen a few from first year that they were nasty. Anyone who got one usually tried to out run the owl or silence it always failed to, and Ron was doing his best to try and leave the Gryffindor table and was unable to. Harry watched in fascination as the owl drifted downwards and then crash land in Ron's bowl of chili. Ouch. Harry knew from experience that chili beans and owls did not mix as the resulting owl farts proved to be deadly, and people that were sitting round Ron were already edging away from the mess. The owl emerged from the large bowl of chili and stood in front of Ron for a moment and then shook off the mess, creating an even larger mess. Then it extended the leg with the red letter to Ron. Ron sat there totally frozen and Harry could tell the kid was scared out of his mind. The owl griped momentarily and then leaned down to chew the string off. The letter dropped to the table in front of Ron and then started to swell up. People started sticking their fingers into their ears and Harry had the feeling the thing was going to be a very loud one.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING? WE TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT? JUST WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU MOUTHED OFF TO HARRY POTTER LIKE THAT? HE IS TO BE SHOWN RESPECT AND NOT JUST BECAUSE HE IS THE BOY-WHO-LIVED! HE IS TO BE SHOWN RESPECT FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT HE IS A HUMAN BEING JUST LIKE THE REST OF US! THE NEXT LETTER HOME I WILL COME OUT THERE AND YOU WILL REGRET IT!" the female voice shouted.

Nobody came near Ron for the rest of the evening.

Not much happened for the first three weeks. Harry went to classes, worked with the house Quidditch team to get ready for the new season, worked out in his training rooms down in his trunk, and spent time with Hermione, his first real friend. Oh Harry knew a lot of people by name, but he couldn't point to any one of them and say that they were his friends. Hermione was the only one he could say that about. Harry quickly discovered she was a virtual walking, living, breathing library she knew so much. While he didn't mind that so much, it did get a bit too much at times, and her devotion to those in authority was astounding. Harry decided he needed to find a tactful way to talk to her about it. But before he could, Dobby struck again. Harry woke up one morning a bit early as he normally did to find the elf standing on his bed at the foot of it.

"Harry Potter did not listen to Dobby. Dobby will take care of you," the elf whimpered, and before Harry could do anything, he suddenly found himself lying on his back in the middle of a very different room.

Harry got to his feet and looked around. The walls were made out of stone. He looked up towards the ceiling and noted a window way the hell up there. He went to the wood door and tried it, finding it locked. Harry tried using his wandless magic to open the door or break it down. Nothing worked. Harry sighed as he leaned against the cold stone wall. It was cool down there but not hot so he was somewhat comfortable in just the fundoshi. Harry growled as he tried the portkey function on the Potter Family Ring but that didn't work. Harry needed another way out. Harry paced round the cell like room for a few minutes and as he did he studied the stone wall. It suddenly occurred to him that he could climb out of there as the stones stuck out from the wall. Harry conjured up his climbing claws and fastened them to his hands and feet. He picked a spot and started climbing. He was glad he had learned rock climbing from one of the older ninjas back home, as the man was an avid rock climber, and eager to teach Harry how to do it. Harry had gotten interested in the sport and went at least once a week with the man to the various mountains surrounding the hidden village and had even climbed the Japanese Alps every year with the man. Now he was glad he had done so as those skills were now paying off. But this time it wasn't for fun, as Harry needed to get the hell out of there. Rock climbing, or wall climbing, as Harry was now doing, is not as easy as Harry had thought the first time he saw it done. It was hard work, and Harry had broken out in a sweat a quarter of the way up. He had to dig into the wall to ensure his grip, as some of the stones did not stick out far enough to get a grip on, and the stones that did stick out made the climbing job easier. Harry was moving, but not as fast as he wanted to. Harry pushed on, getting closer to his goal inch by inch and he eventually got to the window. It was plenty big enough for him to sit on the ledge comfortably. He took advantage of the break to rest a bit and look around. First thing he did was to look down. He grinned when he saw how far it was down to the ground. He could climb down to the ground without any trouble, as it was at least two stories down. Harry climbed down to the ground and relaxed once he had his feet on the grass. He was feeling a lot better now. He banished the claws away and conjured up a pair of pants and a t-shirt and got dressed. Harry glanced at the big clock just inside the grand foyer and noted the time. He had spent nearly all of his two hour workout time with the job of climbing out of there. Harry used what dark shadows he could to get back to the Ravenclaw Tower and inside. He activated the moving stairs and used the ride to rest a little. He got through the warded door and to the second year boys dorm. From there he went into the shower and got ready for the day. Charms was first today and he didn't want to be late for that one.

Harry was there early enough to tell Flitwick about what happened to him that morning. Flitwick frowned as he tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Keep me informed of every incident involving this elf Mr. Potter and I will notify the headmaster," Flitwick ordered.

Harry nodded. "Yes sir."

He took his seat as the rest of the class arrived. Hermione joined him as she always did. Apparently Gryffindor House didn't mind as Ravenclaw and Gryffindor houses had a friendly rivalry between them for as long as anyone could remember. Harry noted the slightly disheveled look to Neville Longbottom as he stumbled in. He was looking a bit upset. Hermione sighed and leaned towards Harry.

"Ron or Draco must have gotten to him again," she whispered.

Harry frowned at that. He had talked to Neville on a few occasions here and there but now he decided it was time to start dealing with Neville's confidence problem. He wondered if Neville had the right kind of wand, and if he didn't, he needed to talk Neville into going to Diagon Alley with him to get the right kind of wand for him. He watched Neville trying to get the wand to work as they were working on learning the Wingardium Leviosa spell. Harry had no problem with that one and neither did Hermione. Harry turned to Neville and worked with him on the spell. He noted that the wand didn't seem to be working that well for him even though Neville had the pronunciation right and the intent clearly was there. It definitely was the wand. Right after class Harry held Neville back and Flitwick wondered what was going on.

"I know why you're having problems Neville," Harry began.

Neville blinked in surprise. "You do?"

Harry nodded and Flitwick crossed his arms. "It's your wand."

"What about my wand?" Neville asked, and then sighed. "Well, it's really not my wand. It's my Dad's wand."

Neville then told the story behind his having it and Harry felt his spirit weep at the poor boy's story. He had been given his father's wand before his first year because the Lady Longbottom pressed it upon him saying that his father would have wanted it. His parents weren't dead, they were long term patients in St. Mungo's long term spell damage ward, having been driven insane due to the number of Crucio spells one Bella LeStrange had used on his parents in an attempt to find out what had happened to Voldemort a few days after Voldemort's attack on the Potters. Harry's jaw tightened at that and mentally placed a black mark next to the names. They had just gone to the top of his people to kill list. Now he had to convince Neville to go to Ollivander's in Diagon Alley for a new wand that would be a good fit to him. Flitwick took that out of his hands.

"We need to get you your own wand," Flitwick said. "Your grandmother needs to understand that not all wands are compatible with people. Yes your father's wand is something special and should be kept as a sentimental treasure, which it is. Do you have your mother's wand?"

"Yes, in my trunk," Neville said.

"Good. Here's what we do. I shall speak to your head of house about getting you your own wand," Flitwick said.

"I'll pay for it," Harry spoke up.

"I will conjure up a nice trophy box to keep your parent's wands in as a memorial to them," Flitwick continued.

"And we shall teach you how to use your new wand Mr. Longbottom," McGonagall said as she glided into the room, having heard the conversation. "Twenty points to Mr. Potter for attempting to help a friend."

The end result was that McGonagall took the both of them on a trip to Diagonal Alley.

To Be Continued…

And there is the first chapter of book two, Chamber of Secrets! Please review and tell me what you thought of it.


	2. Begins The Mystery

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 02

By David

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are not mine. They are the property of JK Rowling. I am not making any money off this fiction. I'm writing it for fun.

A/N: The characters [] indicate Japanese spoken.

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 02

"Begins The Mystery"

The cold weather started the first week of October. Harry was working hard in his classes as he usually did. Saturdays he either went to the study in his trunk to look through his parent's trunks, reading their journals he had found, starting with his mom's first. As he read more of Lily Potter's journal he was learning more about her, what kind of person she was, and what she thought of the world around her. He learned even more about his Aunt Petunia and slowly began to understand her anger towards Dumbledore. He read about the research she was doing into magic and how it worked. Harry learned more about magic from his mother's journal than he did in class. He began to attempt some of her spells and succeeded in doing them. He eventually came to the pages that talked about her meeting James Potter and discovered that his dad wasn't always the nice man that he was made out to be. He read about the bullying pranks he had pulled against Severus Snape and other Slytherins, along with the crew he called 'The Marauders' comprising of Remus 'Mooney' Lupin, Sirius 'Padfoot' Black, and Peter 'Wormtail' Pettigrew. Harry wondered about the nicknames for the other three. As he read on he discovered that his Mom eventually managed to get through to James and slowly change him. They began to date, and eventually they got married. The last pages were dated a bit apart as Lily described what being married to James was like. And then there was the entry concerning him. Lily was pregnant with Harry. Harry got emotional over the entries that talked about how much they loved him and were eagerly waiting for him to arrive, and how they planned on making Sirius Black his Godfather, and Remus and Peter were to be uncles. Then the entry announcing his arrival. Harry smiled and chuckled as his Dad had gotten a bit too excited and flooed out to St. Mungo's, leaving Lily behind, and when Harry had made his appearance into the world his Dad had gotten extremely emotional when he held Harry for the first time, just barely a minute old. Harry wiped a tear from his eyes and read on. The few pages left talked about Harry as a happy baby and how much they adored him. Sirius, Remus, and Peter always coming round to see him and acting like little immature children around Harry. The last entry was just after his first birthday, his mom writing about how she hoped that Harry would grow up into a fine man. Harry struggled with his emotions for a few minutes and then gave in to them. Once he pulled himself back under control, he went to the bookcase that had an empty shelf. His mother's journal got placed in the center of that shelf, a place of honor. His father's journal would go there next to his mother's when he finished reading it. That book was next.

If Harry wasn't in the study, he would go to the room of requirement and used the beachside resort that the magic in the room created for him and relax, socializing with the other students. Sundays he would sleep in and then spend most of the day working out in the training room he had in his trunk or he would be talking with Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom eventually joined them. Both of them learned a great deal from Hermione about whatever it was they were discussing at the moment. Those Sunday afternoon meets evolved into a friendship between all three. Harry used reason as a way to make Hermione see beyond her books and to not always blindly trust authority and accept what they said as gospel. Harry and Hermione teamed up on Neville to help him with his self confidence problem, and a big part of that was his inability to do magic. Now that he had his own wand, one that properly fit him, his confidence had started growing by leaps and bounds and there were signs that Neville was going to be a powerful wizard in his own right. So far things had appeared normal and that got Harry into thinking that his second year would be free of anything unusual. Ah, but Harry did not know that a certain individual that went by the name of Mr. Murphy (if anything can go wrong it will fame) was lying in wait for Harry and his using Dobby as the first shot against Harry and cheerfully plotting more trouble to throw at Harry. Harry's next clue that something really was up making him believe Dobby's warnings wasn't just a lot of hot air. It was late on a Saturday evening and he was headed back to the Ravenclaw Tower when he first heard the whispers.

"Kill… let me rip you… drink your blood…"

Harry's first inclination was to blow it off but he heard it again and this time it was much louder, coming through the wall next to his left shoulder, and it sounded like it was going up. Harry raced up ahead to the stairs and upward to the second floor, having gone to the ground floor in order to access Ravenclaw Tower. He stood on the landing and listened once more.

"Hunt you… eat you… kill you… rip you…"

Harry shivered as everything within him turned ice cold. That voice was the voice of evil. Harry listened harder and it sounded like it was going to the third floor now. Harry raced up to the third floor and stopped, waiting for the whispering to start. It never came and Harry wasn't able to sense it anymore. He growled in frustration and then turned to go back to the Ravenclaw Tower. Something was going on and he was beginning to think that Dobby had been right when he said that terrible things would happen at Hogwarts. He turned and headed back to the Ravenclaw Tower. Passing through the common room, Harry noticed a few of the sixth and seventh years in front of the big fireplace talking. They glanced over at Harry and he waved at them and got a friendly wave in return. Harry went up to the second year boys' dorm and inside. They had gone to bed already and Harry sighed in relief. He popped into his trunk and went down to the war room to submit a copy of the memory to his Pensieve and note it on the events wall for second year. He nodded at it and headed out and to bed. As he lay there in bed Harry wondered if that was a precursor to trouble that Dobby had warned him about. He sighed and turned over and went to sleep.

As per his habit, Harry slept in a bit and then went down to his training room to workout. He retrieved his Dad's journal from James' trunk and brought it out with him. He took it down to the great hall to read during breakfast. It was the first of four journals according to the first page. Harry was sure he would find it interesting reading. He opened it and started reading it as he ate breakfast. Once he was done with his breakfast he would take it up to the library and find a secluded corner to read it. He was aware of people coming and going to do research on various projects and essays for their classes. Harry discovered the journal started when his dad was eleven. Harry found it a bit hard to read because his handwriting was a bit messy. He managed to get through a third of it before lunch. After lunch Harry took the book back to his trunk and left it in the top tray intending to read more of it later as he had a Quidditch team practice, one that turned into a wet and muddy practice. Harry was glad the team had a locker room there at the Quidditch pitch as it allowed him to clean up and toss his team uniform into the wash. Making it back to the castle Harry used the clean spell on everyone that came in with him as he had felt Filch on the other side of the castle doors waiting to jump on the poor student for dripping mud and water all over the floor. Harry was the last person in and he smiled at a clearly pissed off Filch.

"Good afternoon sir," Harry smiled at the growling man.

Filch glared at Harry for a minute before shuffling off. Harry wondered what it was that made him so bitter and angry. It wasn't high on his list of priorities but he decided he needed to find out what made Filch so angry. Harry headed to the second floor where the Ravenclaw Tower was located and headed up to the common room to find most of Ravenclaw house scattered around the room. In once corner a group of first years had the radio going, in another corner sixth and seventh years were discussing things, a group of third years were in another corner working on essays, and the rest of them were in small groups talking. Harry went up to his dorm and pulled out his father's journal and continued to read it. As Harry discovered, it started on his dad's eleventh birthday and the first few pages had him talking about his life, his family, his home, and other kid things. Harry had to smile at those entries. Then he came up on the entries where he came to Hogwarts as a first year and met Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin. They had bonded almost immediately, and Harry gaped at the news that Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor, and that had been unheard of as the Black Family was dark and big supporters of Slytherin. Harry shook his head at that and then considered the thought that perhaps Sirius Black had turned out a bit differently. That certainly gave weight to his intent argument. Harry went back to the journal and read some more. When he ran to the bathroom, he noted the time and it had gotten late. Harry picked up the journal and marked his place in it and dropped it back into the top tray in his trunk. He headed to bed about the same time the other second year boys did.

Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts

Dumbledore sat at his desk, his brows furled as he thought hard of a plan to get Harry into his clutches. He wondered why Harry hadn't reacted to any of the things the goblins had found out about his attempting to dismantle the Potter Estate. Perhaps the boy didn't know just yet. He could play on his ignorance of the Wizarding World and get him to commit to Dumbledore and then Dumbledore could use a spell of some sort to get Harry under his control. The first spell would have to be very subtle. Once that one took hold then he could layer other spells on top of the first one. Dumbledore headed to his bookcase and started looking for a book on controlling spells. His right eyebrow went up as he thought of the summoning tattoo that Snape had. He knew it was layered with all kinds of loyalty, obedience, tracker, and power drain spells on it courtesy of the deranged Lord Voldemort. A thought occurred to him. If he could discover just what kind of spell Voldemort used to mark his followers, he could do the same to Harry and use a much smaller tattoo on one of Harry's forearms. He smiled as the idea took root in his mind. Oh yes, that would work just fine, and once he got it on Harry, the boy would be his to command. Dumbledore giggled insanely in the dark and Fawkes shivered from the sound. He knew that Dumbledore was losing it and he felt that perhaps it was time to break the bond he had with the old man. Fawkes had seen Harry a few times and he knew that Harry was a much better man to support than the demented headmaster. Fawkes decided it was time to make a few plans of his own.

Sunday Morning, 9 am, Harry's training room

Harry sighed as he finished the last bit of his workout. He had pushed him self a bit harder this morning and the results were good. His power levels were increasing and his wandless magic was getting a lot better than it ever had. Harry was happy with the way the workout went, but he was always looking for ways to better his skills and so far Lockhart wasn't helping him any, or anyone else for that matter. First class had been a complete disaster and people were still grumbling about it, at least the male population of the school was as the girls continued to think that he was a total dreamboat, to use Lavender Brown's words. It got so that Harry dreaded DADA class. He started using one of the back dark corners to hide out in so Lockhart wouldn't choose him for one of his 'demonstrations', and the last time Lockhart attempted to do so Harry glared him down and Lockhart ended up using Ron Weasley for the job, which pissed off the redhead to no end and Ron trailed him to lunch yelling all kinds of insults at him. Harry had ignored him and kept on going. McGonagall called him off and penalized him for the insults. Ron had not been happy about that and continued to carry on his little campaign making sure there weren't any adults around. Harry had come close to hitting Ron very hard a few times but managed to keep control. Draco Malfoy was just as bad, if not worse. What made it impossible to do anything was Snape's constant popping up round Draco to try and catch Harry in something. Harry simply nodded at the both of them and walked away. What puzzled Harry the most was how Snape could be cold one minute and warm the next. He had written letters home about what was going on to Hamura, Hiroshi, Kotake, and Kazuya. They had written back and told him that what he was doing by turning and walking away from them proved that he was by far the better man. They encouraged him to keep going and Harry drew strength from those words.

Harry went down to breakfast after his workout. The great hall was half full, and people were coming and going. Sunday morning breakfast never was a formal affair like they were Mondays to Fridays. It was a more of a come when you want type of deal. Harry usually ate enough to carry him through the day at first but now he discovered he was consuming more than he normally did and after a letter home to Kazuya about that and finding out it was normal of people who were very active as Harry was with his physical and magical training as well as his working with the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because he was burning more calories than most people. Shizune advised him to eat healthy and Harry did, making an effort to avoid the junk food, which was easy for him to do as he rarely ate them back home in the village. Harry read the Daily Prophet as he enjoyed breakfast. There wasn't much of interest other than Minister Fudge making a fool of him self as usual, the society pages didn't have much in the way of gossip, and the Chudley Cannons were definitely on a losing streak again, poor bastards. As Harry glanced around the room while eating and pursuing the paper, he noted a few things. There were no teachers at the head table this morning, not even Dumbledore on his throne, very strange. Nearly all of the Slytherins were missing. Ron Weasley and his friends were holding court as usual over at the Gryffindor table no doubt plotting something, Hermione Granger had her nose inside a book as usual with Neville next to her, Percy making goo goo eyes with Penelope Clearwater, the Weasley twins Fred and George definitely plotting something, and their sister Ginny sitting down at the end looking miserable looking like a complete wreck and Harry wondered if she had been sleeping of late. Harry had a feeling of impending danger. He decided words were needed with Percy Weasley.

Harry caught Percy in front of the library and steered him towards an unused classroom nearby. Harry closed the door and then sat down in a chair butt backwards and rested his arms on top of the back and then his head on his arms.

"What do you want, Potter?" Percy asked tersely.

Harry smiled. "To have words with you about a few things."

Percy sat down in a chair in front of Harry a few feet away. Harry noted that Percy had his right hand on the hilt of his wand that was attached to his belt on the left side of him. A cross draw. Harry hoped he was good at it.

"Okay," Harry sighed, "first subject. Ron."

Percy nodded. "Ron is very out of control."

"I think a part of that is the fact that all of his brothers are much more successful and talented than he is and that rankles him greatly. Bill is a curse breaker for Gringotts and I know this because I've heard people talking about him. Charlie works with dragons in Romania and I know this because I've read about him in a dragon book. Rumor has it your chances of being Head Boy are really good and there's talk that you are interested in working for the Ministry. I say go for it. Fred and George are extremely talented with their pranks, and I know a lot goes into their pranks, I've heard their grades aren't the best due to the many letter they get from your Mum."

Percy leaned forward at that. "You think they are deliberately throwing their grades so they won't get drafted by the Ministry?"

Harry smiled at that.

"Mum's gonna strangle them both for that," Percy sighed.

"Ron had no talent other than his ability to kill people in chess," Harry stated.

Percy nodded. "Ron always did have an inferior complex. He doesn't like to work hard in his classes."

"I know because Hermione Granger is complaining that he's sponging off on her," Harry reported.

"His grades are next to nothing," Percy stated.

"However, Ron is slowly developing a talent, and that is strategy, " Harry said. "In playing chess one must learn strategy if he wishes to beat his opponent."

"Very true," Percy agreed. "Perhaps Mum and Dad should consider moving Ron into a much smaller school. Perhaps the teachers here are overlooking him. In a smaller school with smaller classes he would get the help and proper motivation he needs. Only then will he succeed."

"Agreed," Harry nodded.

"What's the second subject?" Percy asked.

Harry sighed. "Ginny, your sister."

"What about her?" Percy asked, getting defensive.

"Have you seen her of late?" Harry asked. "She looks like a zombie. She looks like she hasn't had any sleep in weeks."

Percy frowned at that. "Perhaps I need to sit down with her and then talk with Fred and George. We did promise our folks to look after her."

"How about I ask Hermione to befriend her?" Harry proposed.

Percy nodded. "A good idea. You do that."

"As for you and Miss Clearwater, I think the both of you make a good couple," Harry grinned as Percy blushed. "Just be careful."

Percy raised his head. "Just how would you know about things like that?"

"Just because I'm twelve doesn't mean I should be kept ignorant of things like that, Percy. Every kid needs to know the facts of life and if we are informed of them then we can and will make better choices instead of being ignorant."

Percy had to admit that Harry was right about that.

"Potter, thank you for talking to me. I will be sending a letter home to my folks. I'll let you know what happens," Percy said as they left the classroom.

Harry watched Percy leave and hoped that his conversation with Percy would turn out okay. He trod up the steps towards the library and as he approached it he felt killing intent bearing down on him. Harry instantly shifted into battle mode, becoming aware of everything in the hall once he slipped into Getsumi no Michi. His senses alerted him to at least six people in front of him. He also detected McGonagall barely seconds behind him. Harry paused for a moment and then moved forward, the tip of his wand barely poking out of the left sleeve on his blue flannel shirt. Just as he got halfway, the six attackers moved. Harry instantly dropped to one knee and threw up a shielding dome over him. Spell fire from six different directions pounded into his protective dome as Harry rode it out, and just as fast as it had started it stopped when McGonagall's voice rang out in that sharp Scottish brogue of hers.

"What is going on here?" she shouted.

When she got no response she drew her wand. "Accio wands!"

Six wands flew directly to her and the six attackers came out of the dark to go after them.

Harry relaxed once he saw that McGonagall had their wands. Just as he suspected, Draco Malfoy leading five other Slytherins.

"We were defending ourselves from Potter!" Draco exclaimed.

"Not what I saw," McGonagall stated.

As Harry stood up after he cancelled his shielding dome, Professor Snape appeared. He looked around and then glanced at Harry.

"Twenty points from you, Mr. Potter, and a detention with me for attacking my Slytherins," Snape stated.

McGonagall glared at Snape. "Forty points from each Slytherin and a weeks detention with Mr. Filch for attacking Mr. Potter!"

Harry sighed and quietly walked into the library leaving the Slytherins and the two adults to fight it out.

"Sure I can do that," Hermione responded to Harry's request to befriend Ginny after telling her what he had seen of her at breakfast.

"I'll do the same," Neville said. "What happened out there?"

Harry told them of the attack and what happened afterwards. Hermione and Neville both shook their heads at that.

"Will they ever learn to not attack you?" Neville asked.

"Probably never," Harry said.

Hermione sighed. "Harry, I imagine it would be useless to tell you to avoid them."

"It would as they would make every effort to find me first," Harry stated.

Neville then picked up the Sunday Daily Prophet and read them an article and the discussion went from there, and that was where Dumbledore found them. He stood there for a moment as Harry was expressing his opinion for the need to keep the wizarding world and the muggle world separate and keeping the wizarding world hidden.

"Because then the muggles will be wanting us to perform all kinds of miracles for them including ones we can't do and when we can't do everything they want us to then they will either try to enslave us or just flat out kill us," Harry stated.

"Very true, Mr. Potter. History shows us that kind of reaction did take place in the past here in England, the Americas, and other countries. Better that we remain hidden," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Potter, a word with you please."

Harry followed Dumbledore into a study room in the library and Dumbledore closed the door behind them.

"I have been made aware of an incident nearly an hour ago outside the library. I would like to hear your side of it," Dumbledore said as he settled himself in a bright yellow squishy chair he had conjured.

"Nice job of the chair," Harry complemented and Dumbledore beamed. "Not much to tell, sir. I came up the steps and walked into the hall. Just as I got to the middle I had a feeling of danger and as I was about to react to it six people started shooting spells at me. I dropped to the floor and put up protego to defend my self. That was all I did."

Harry raised his wand for Dumbledore to cast priori on it and the word 'protego' floated up out of it. Dumbledore nodded.

"Very good Mr. Potter. Professor Snape insists on a punishment for you but I must sadly refuse his request, as you have done nothing wrong. He will handle their punishments as his right to," Dumbledore said, leaving his chair and it vanished into thin air. "You may rejoin your friends."

Dumbledore left the library with his hands behind his back. Harry pulled his main wand and quickly checked him self for spells and found none. He went back to Hermione and Neville and they talked briefly about what had happened.

It was just after lunch that it happened. Harry stopped the moment he heard the whispering voice.

"Come… let me rip you… taste you… kill…" and it faded out as Harry realized it was headed for the second floor.

"Harry?" Hermione called out to him as he raced up the stairs.

People watched him race up the stairs followed him, Hermione and Neville in the lead. Harry paused on the second floor landing, Hermione catching up to him.

"Blood… I ssssmell blood…" the voice whispered, heading for the third floor.

Harry raced up the stairs to the third floor and into the hall, as he knew it would go down that way. Halfway down the hall his feet began making squishy noises and that's when he realized that part of the floor was flooded with water from the nearby girl's bathroom. What really got his attention was Miss Norris. She was hanging from the torch bracket by her tail, her fur standing up on end, all four limbs splayed out, her fangs exposed in a snarl of defiance, and her eyes bugging out in shock.

"Kuso," Harry breathed.

He knew if Filch saw this he'd go bonkers. The next item to catch his attention was the writing on the wall in what looked like red ink, but Harry knew that wasn't red ink. It smelled like blood.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware!"

Harry shook his head as he read the message.

"Mr. Potter, what's happened here?" Professor Flitwick suddenly appeared on Harry's right side.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could answer a high pitched laugh came from behind them and Harry instinctively knew who it was.

"Enemies of the Heir beware!" Draco crowed. "You'll be next to die, mudbloods! All of you!"

Flitwick turned to face Draco. "Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco sneered at Flitwick. "What do you want?"

"SHUT UP YOUR FACE!" Flitwick roared.

Draco jumped back in shock along with everyone else. The tale of the mouse that roared came to Harry's mind and he turned back to the sight before them and smiled. He knew for certain now that Flitwick may be a small man, but he was a man who was not to be messed with. Something Hiroshi had said once came floating up from his memories.

"It is not the size of the man in the fight that matters, rather, it is the size of the fight in the man that shall carry the day," Hiroshi had said.

"Truedat," Harry nodded to him self.

Harry pulled his other wand and moved it around Flitwick. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Flitwick rose from the floor and moved forward as Harry controlled his movements as he sensed people arriving behind him.

"Not a word," he heard Dumbledore whisper to people behind him. "Harry cannot lose his concentration. McGonagall, can you clear the hall? There is nothing more here for people to see."

Harry directed Flitwick up to the cat and the man drew his wand and began his examination. Snape slid past Harry on his left side and went to examine the writing on the wall. Dumbledore stood there quietly and let the two men work.

"Headmaster? I am not completely convinced the cat is dead," Flitwick said softly, breaking the silence.

"Can you retrieve it Filius?" Dumbledore asked.

"I can, Albus," Flitwick replied.

As Flitwick reached up to retrieve the cat, a voice intruded.

"MY CAT!" Filch shouted, and then suddenly he was right there, grabbing Harry by the neck, his hands squeezing Harry's neck tight, cutting off his air and his concentration, letting go of Flitwick.

Harry's vision was filled by Filch's face, the man's glowing red with anger as he slammed Harry's head into the wall. Filch did it twice more and then suddenly Harry's world went black.

The next thing Harry knew was that he was waking up slowly and his head hurt badly. He hissed from the pain that raced through his head. He took a couple of slow breaths to relax and the pain eased a bit. He brought up his hands and slowly went through the steps of self healing, and within minutes the migraine disappeared. Harry opened his eyes and noted the sky slowly changing colors, from the black of night to the beginnings of daybreak. He slowly sat up and swung his feet down to the ground. He slowly began moving his head from side to side and then hard to the right, cracking everything in the neck back into place. Then he repeated it for the left side, putting everything back into place on the left side of his neck. That made him feel even better. Then he sat there for a few minutes while he tried to figure out just what the hell happened. One moment he was levitating professor Flitwick off the floor to examine the cat and then the next thing he knew Filch was right there trying his best to strangle him and then everything went black. Harry twisted his neck a few times more to make sure everything was back in place as it should be. He got off the bed and went into the bathroom and nodded to his reflection. If there had been any bruising from Filch trying to strangle him, they weren't there now. Harry turned to take care of business and then used the shower to clean up. He transfigured the hospital pj's into a kimono and headed for the front doors of the hospital only to be stopped by Madame Pomfrey.

"And just where do you think you are going, Mister Potter?" she demanded, her black eyes glowing in anger.

Harry smiled. "I do thank you for making sure I am okay, Madame Pomfrey. As you can see I am just fine now. Apparently my magic healed me. Isn't that great?"

She raised her wand and for a moment there Harry thought she was going to hex him. She wiggled it in front of him from head to foot, spending a few minutes extra on his head and then she looked at the results of her scan as the words appeared in front of her.

"Nothing too strenuous for the next few days," she barked and stepped out of his way and allowed him to leave.

Harry was happy to get out of there.

People in the Ravenclaw common room were shocked to see Harry. Madame Pomfrey must have notified Flitwick because he popped up in front of Harry.

"Mr. Potter! Are you okay?" he asked, concern on his face.

Harry nodded. "I am, sir. I am a bit tired at the moment and would like to go to bed."

Flitwick nodded. "I'll inform the staff that you won't be in class today. I'll come and see you during my free period around eleven and we can talk."

Harry smiled. "Thank you sir. You are a great man."

The other Ravenclaws nodded their heads at Harry's statement. Flitwick blushed.

"Thank you Mr. Potter for your kind words. Do you want a bit of food? If you do just call out the name Bustah, and he will respond," Flitwick said.

Harry nodded and then headed for the second year boy's dorm and to his bed. He sighed as he sank into the bed as the privacy curtains snapped closed around the four poster bed. He was asleep in moments, and dreamed of the village back home in Japan, deep in the mountains nestled in the tall pine trees and the small clear blue where he learned to swim along with the other boys in the village, his mother's good cooking and his many attempts to raid the cookie jar and getting caught doing it. Fishing with older brother Ichiro, spending time with Kotake his father and Hiroshi, his grandfather. Harry woke up around eleven feeling good and feeling the need for some food.

"Bustah?" Harry called out and suddenly a house elf was right there.

"I's Bustah!" the elf proclaimed. "How can I help you, Mr. Potter sir?"

Harry smiled and told the elf what he wanted to eat. He sat down at the small table and had lunch of his favorite food and enjoyed it. The food had done him good and he was feeling so much better now. He pushed away from the table, as Bustah appeared to clear away the mess, leaving the teapot. Harry was sipping his tea when Dumbledore made him self known from the doorway.

"Harry, are you all right?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry looked over at him and noted the serious look on his face.

"I am now, sir. Apparently a bit of rest in my own bed and some of my favorite food put me right," Harry smiled. "Would you join me for some tea?"

Dumbledore beamed. "I would be honored to Harry."

Harry knew that the best way to keep an eye out for a sworn enemy was to invite him to your table, and that's just what he was doing with Dumbledore. Oh sure he was pissed off at Dumbledore for doing what he did, and he planned on exposing Dumbledore as the snake that he really was, but for the moment his plan was to give Dumbledore the impression that he was going along with Dumbledore, and then at the right moment he would spring his attack on Dumbledore. He just needed to assemble all of the pieces of it first, from the evidence the goblins were putting together for him to the evidence that he influenced the Dursleys. When all of those ducks came up in a neat row, that's when he was going to attack. Oh there was no way the old man was going to get away with what he had done. To him and to anybody Dumbledore had hurt. No one person should ever have too much power.

"I am wondering what happened yesterday," Harry said, starting the conversation.

Dumbledore sighed and set down his cup of tea. "Japanese green tea is one of my favorites, but I truly prefer the Earl Grey. Harry, the first I knew of the situation was when Miss Granger arrived in the hall and rushed up to the head table and informed us of what happened. When I arrived there you were levitating professor Flitwick in the air so he could examine the cat. Professor Snape moved past you on your left side so he could see the writing on the wall. I thought the hall was getting a bit crowded so I asked Professor McGonagall to clear the hall. Professor Flitwick informed me of his theory that the cat wasn't dead and I asked him to remove the cat so I could examine it myself. As Professor Flitwick was removing the cat, Mr. Filch appeared out of nowhere, saw his cat, and tried to strangle you, slamming the back of your head into the wall, knocking you out. That caused the spell of Professor Flitwick to stop working. Fortunately Professor Snape was right there and caught Professor Flitwick before he hit the ground. That is not your fault, Harry. I cannot stress that enough. He was not harmed. We saw to your needs first before doing anything else. I have taken Mr. Filch to task for what he has done. I have confined him to quarters. As for Miss Norris, she has been petrified. How, I do not know. That is something I know you are not capable of doing, and I do not know of any witch or wizard that is capable of doing this," Dumbledore revealed.

Harry sat back and let his mind grasp the problem. "This is not going to go away anytime soon. This is only the beginning."

Dumbledore sighed. "I know. I have been dealing with the Ministry all morning. They demand answers I cannot give."

"Of course. The politicians must be seen acting like they are doing something about the situation," Harry commented as he sipped his tea.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Of course they must."

Harry set down his cup. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Dumbledore smiled that sweet grandfatherly smile of his. "Thank you Harry, but no. This is a situation for a much older and experienced adult to handle. Just go about your normal business. Now I must go. I am glad to see that you are okay."

Dumbledore left and Harry smiled as the old man left the Ravenclaw Tower. He turned and went into his trunk and into his war room. He had work to do.

Harry spent the next hour writing letters, writing the events on the wall he had set up for second year events, and recorded this one. He stepped back to make sure he had the recent events correct, and they were. He went into his personal library to retrieve his personal copy of Hogwarts, A History and started searching for what believed to be Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. According to the legend, Slytherin was one of the founding four that started Hogwarts. At some point in time he became disillusioned with the school and supposedly developed the idea that only purebreds should have access to magic and not the halfbloods or the mudbloods. Harry wondered if there was any truth to that legend. He returned to his dorm and went to sit in front of the fire for a bit until the other Ravenclaws returned from their classes. They mobbed Harry, wanting to know how he was feeling. Harry told them all that he was feeling fine and that he would be joining them at dinner and he did, coming down in a sky blue kimono instead of his Ravenclaw robe. People speculated as to why Harry would wear one tonight instead of his Ravenclaw robe.

"It's because I felt like wearing it and not changing into pants, shirt, and the robe, Professor Flitwick," Harry answered the man's question respectfully. "If it is against regulation, I apologize. No offense was intended."

"It isn't against regulations, Mr. Potter. It's that nobody ever came down to dinner without their house robe before. I am guessing that your mother made it for you?" Flitwick asked Harry.

Harry smiled. "She did, and it is valuable to me because of that."

Flitwick nodded and went up to the head table to join the other teachers and staff for dinner where he told them what Harry had said. He met Hermione and Neville after dinner in their usual spot in the library and discussed the events of yesterday.

"Have you seen the entry for the Chamber of Secrets in the Hogwarts, A History?" Harry asked once he finished his report.

"I did," Hermione said. "I bought my own copy first year."

"There's a waiting list to borrow a copy from the library," Neville said.

Harry and Hermione told Neville what the legend was.

"What if it wasn't legend?" Neville asked.

Harry sighed. "Then we need to find it and seal it shut."

"Easier said than done," Hermione said.

"So how do we do it then?" Neville asked.

"Don't know," Harry admitted. "There are going to be more incidents of this nature before this thing is done."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Hermione said.

Harry wasn't the only one wondering that, too. Dumbledore leaned back in his throne and wondered why now, of all times to happen, why the Chamber of Secrets had to resurface after fifty years. He got out of his seat and wandered round his office, examining various items he had collected over the years, including the sword of Godric Gryffindor that he managed to get his hands on ages ago. He stared at it for a time, his mind occupied with the events of yesterday. Dumbledore moved on, continuing to ramble round his office touching things and getting no closer to a solution. He sighed retaking his seat and closed his eyes. The events of fifty years ago hadn't been expected then, either. The headmaster of Hogwarts didn't have an easy time of it too, and lost a student to the legend back then. Dumbledore shivered as he recalled the backlash of not having found it back then and he didn't like the odds going up against this mystery once more. Dumbledore briefly considered throwing Harry at the problem seeing as how he solved the first one. Like Harry, he hoped this situation wouldn't be a bad one.

To Be Continued

Author's Notes II: I'm really pleased by the excellent reviews and by the number of people who are adding this to their story alerts, favorite story column, and favorite authors. Thank you. Okay, to touch on a few things that people have commented on.

DestroyerDRT – yes, I am breaking it down by years and books. Much easier to control and keep track of everything. I have read some fics that were really long and the only reason I did was the fact that the first few chapters of the long fics I read were really well written. Then there are fics that got broken down by year and books that made it so much easier to read. I am doing that because I feel that it might be a lot easier for readers to pursue. Thank you for your comments.

Jarno – your comments about Harry wearing earrings were well presented. Thank you. I present this for your consideration, and that is a well trained ninja would never give you the chance to kick or punch him in the head when he or she would have you defeated long before you were able to mount any kind of defense. Harry apparently likes wearing them, as the earrings and his tattoos gives somewhat of a rebel appearance, which is what he wanted, and to throw people off the track. No goody goody act for him.

Tumshie – thank you for correcting me on the railway mistake. It wasn't intentional. As for swimming in the lake, perhaps I should have had Harry cast a warming spell on the section of water used for swimming before hand. I am not that good with geography and didn't realize that Scotland was cold in September.

As for the others who have left reviews, thank you. I feel good when I see people enjoying what I write.


	3. Attack of the Rogue Bludger

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 03

By David

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends are not mine. JK Rowling owns them.

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 03

"Attack of the Rogue Bludger"

Harry leaned back in his recliner in the Ravenclaw common room, his eyes closed, and nodding his head in time to the newest ZZ Top CD that he had gotten that morning through Owl Post. Harry didn't have any particular favorite rock band, he just liked what he thought sounded good to him and at the moment he really liked the ZZ Top 'Recycler' CD. He relaxed as he listened to the music, his mind going wherever the music was taking him and at the moment Harry was enjoying the fantasy of being at a ZZ Top show. If they ever came to England he planned on going to one of their shows. Harry came out of the fantasy as the CD ended and he opened his eyes to look into the fire. The last few weeks had been stressful, people on edge because of what happened. Once more Harry's mind went back to the scene and he went over it again but still couldn't find anything unusual about the incident. Harry sighed and hoped that whatever was going on would be stopped soon. He hoped the Quidditch game coming up in November, the day after Halloween would be the thing that Hogwarts needed to get things back on track. Dobby hadn't attacked him in some time and Harry was beginning to think the little guy had given up on protecting Harry. He didn't rule that out completely as Dobby could still do anything to make Harry leave Hogwarts and there was no way Harry planned on doing that. He liked here too much. Harry turned as Davies sat down in a chair next to him. Harry liked the older boy as Davies had done what he could to get Harry up to speed in terms of knowing what the wizarding world was like.

"Hey Harry. Just wanted to make sure you're okay. Big match in a few days," he said as he handed Harry a can of soda he'd gotten from Hogsmeade a few days ago.

"I'm good," Harry said as he opened the can of cream soda.

Davies nodded. "Good. Hopefully this match will be the thing to get people's minds off the incident a few weeks ago."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. That business was not a good scene. I couldn't even hazard a guess as to who could have done it."

"A lot of people seem to think that Malfoy is behind it," Davies ventured.

"He's Slytherin," Harry hummed for a moment. "He does like to parrot his daddy, struts round the place like he owns it, and shows off his wealth."

"Don't forget his favorite line when he throws a tantrum, 'when my father hears of this'," Davies imitated Malfoy perfectly and people round them laughed.

"Are you going to be at the Halloween Feast?" Davies asked.

Harry nodded. "I will. I was at last year's and it was cool."

Davies lowered his voice. "We know what this day means to you, Harry. All of us feel for you. I've known others who have lost a parent. Never easy to lose someone you love and that pain is something I would never understand but I am here to listen when you feel the need to talk. Friends don't let friends suffer alone."

Harry felt warm inside at hearing that. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

Davies moved on to talk to somebody else and left Harry to his thoughts.

Halloween turned out to be cold, gloomy, and rainy. The day certainly fit Harry's mood. He kept to him self for most of the day and when classes ended for the day Harry headed up to the Ravenclaw Tower to change into something a bit more somber. He got dressed in a black suit with a matching trench coat that had rain repelling spells on it and warming charms inside the trench coat to keep him warm. Harry swept him self to make sure he didn't have any tracking spells on him before leaving the tower. He managed to slip out of Hogwarts without being seen. He went down into Hogsmeade to get roses and bought a round trip portkey to Godric's Hollow. A certain old man had seen Harry leave the grounds and now he set out after Harry, knowing full well where he was going. Harry appeared in Godric's Hollow and walked the short distance to the small graveyard to where his parents had been laid to rest. As Harry paused in front of his parent's graves he sensed Dumbledore behind him. Harry squatted down and placed one dozen of the roses on his mother's grave and then a second on his father's grave.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad. Just wanted to come and say hello and to let you know I'm okay. I'm in my second year at Hogwarts. Still on the Ravenclaw House Quidditch team. Professor Flitwick is a great guy and he's teaching me a lot of great things. So is McGonagall. Got a few friends, they're nice people. I think of you both everyday. God, I miss you," Harry's voice cracked as he slowly gave into his emotions.

For just a brief moment Dumbledore felt a tiny bit guilty for what happened to Harry and then reminded him self that it was for the Greater Good. Potter would understand one day that all of this had been necessary. He watched as Harry spent a few minutes grieving for his parents. Once Harry was able to pull his emotions back under control, he sat there for a time and then nodded. He stood up and walked to where Ariana Dumbledore was at rest. Harry laid four roses bound together, a white one, a red one, a purple one, and a yellow one on her grave and Dumbledore blinked. He couldn't believe that Harry would do that. He strained his ears to listen.

"Your brother couldn't come today, so I decided to do it for him. He's too busy with his work that I think he forgets to come. He means well, so don't give up on him. Deep down inside of him he still loves you, I'm sure of that," Harry said.

He turned and headed back to the cemetery gates, passing a disillusioned Dumbledore. He stopped next to the man and Dumbledore held his breath.

"One never forgets his family, no matter what," Harry said softly. "To come and recognize them is the honorable thing to do, the right thing to do."

Harry nodded his head a moment later and headed out of the cemetery and portkeyed away leaving Dumbledore standing there. He went to his sister's grave and stood there for a time not saying anything or reacting to what Harry had done. Eventually he spoke shattering the silence in the graveyard.

"Harry doesn't understand, my dear, why I must do what needs to be done. It is for the Greater Good that he must be sacrificed in order to stop the evil that is Tom. He has not repented for his sins so now he must be destroyed. I have offered him many chances over the years and he has not accepted what it is I offer him. Tom has committed great evil and cannot be turned back to the light. So therefore he has to die and Harry will sacrifice his life to end Tom's. This is how it must be, in order to get rid of two threats to my wonderful plan," Dumbledore smiled.

Then he apparated away back to Hogwarts.

The Halloween Feast was the absolute highlight of the school year. The great hall was decorated for the event, and live bats swooped down from the ceiling every few minutes. Lit pumpkins sat on the tables, the faces leering at people. The elves of Hogwarts had outdone them selves and created great food. Harry sat down at the end of the Ravenclaw house table so Hermione and Neville could join him. Harry seemed to be in a better mood having come back from seeing his parents. People stopped to offer condolences as they passed him and he appreciated that. The feast got underway as the food appeared. Harry enjoyed the food and the company of his two close friends and for a time the pain in his heart eased a little. The little dance band Dumbledore had hired was entertaining and Harry danced with Hermione a few times and enjoyed it. Harry ended up enjoying the evening and managed to smile a little. He walked Hermione to the Gryffindor Tower and she turned to say goodnight to him.

"I had a great time, Harry. Thank you," Hermione said.

Harry smiled. "You're welcome."

He watched her go through the painting and headed to the Ravenclaw Tower. He thought about her as he walked through the halls. He was beginning to like her and decided to ask her to be a friend. Harry nodded. Yes, he would do that tomorrow. When he got back to the Ravenclaw Tower, he found the Quidditch team gathered around one of the tables and went over to see what was up. He took his seat once he was told they were discussing plays and tactics for Saturday's game. Harry added his comments and ideas to the discussion and it was close to midnight when the discussion broke up. Harry needed to get to bed, as he wanted to be alert in the morning.

It never mattered what time Harry went to bed at night, he was always up at five in the morning to go workout in his training room. This morning was no exception as he woke up at his usual time. He went down into his trunk to the training room and got started, putting in a hard workout as he usually did. He was down in the great hall having breakfast and reading the Daily Prophet, as was his habit. The only things of interest this morning were the various Halloween parties, from the one at Hogwarts to the fancy ball at Malfoy mansion. He set the paper aside as the Ravenclaw table began to fill up now. Hermione passed by and Harry nodded to her. Hermione smiled as she went past to the Gryffindor table. Harry checked his schedule for today and noted that DADA was first this morning. Another wasted morning with the idiot Lockhart. Harry was starting to get the feeling that there was something seriously wrong with the man. Oh it was obvious that he was a flake, but Harry had a feeling that it went beyond that. Harry hoped that he was wrong about Lockhart in whatever it was. He pulled a defense book from his daypack and started reading it, taking notes. As usual the very flamboyant man pranced into the classroom and all of the girls swooned. Harry ignored him as he usually did and paid attention to what he was doing. Passing the class with the best marks possible was important to him as he needed to learn the defensive/offensive spells should he encounter DE's again. He did not want to be not prepared for a fight with more of them.

Saturday was clear but cold as anything. Harry had the feeling that there would be snow any day now. He cast the warming spells on his Quidditch uniform as the others were doing. Harry sat there on the bench and listened to the last minute instructions for the game from the captain. Then they were introduced. Ravenclaw roared loudly as they flew out of the locker room and took a fast swing round the pitch and then grouped up behind their captain on the ground where they went through their game start routine. The balls were released the moment everybody took to the air. Slytherin managed to get the first point and Malfoy smirked at Harry. Harry nodded as he headed off in a direction. Nobody noticed one of the bludgers suddenly turn and take off after Harry. It was about fifteen minutes into the game when Davies noticed one of the bludgers going after Harry continuously. He frowned at that and managed to catch up to Harry.

"You okay Harry?" he yelled.

Harry nodded. "Leave it to me! Go get big goals for us!"

Davies nodded and peeled off in search of the quaffle. Harry cracked his neck muscles and went back to work trying to out fly the rogue bludger and catch the snitch. Harry relaxed a bit and within the space of a single breath Harry was into Getsumi no Michi (Moonlit Path. A ninja discipline) and suddenly Harry was aware of everything. He could actually feel the tainted bludger keeping pace with him. Harry executed as many turns, twists, dives, and used every flying trick he knew of to keep ahead of the bludger while trying to find the snitch. He heard Lee Johnson calling the game and from the sound of it Slytherin and Ravenclaw were trading the lead back and forth. Harry got the brilliant idea of scaring the crap out of the Slytherins by zooming very close to some of them and see what happens when the bludger tried to remove them from their brooms. Harry suddenly changed directions and cut across the path of Goyle, making him slow down. People later said that he squealed like a pig when the rogue bludger bore down on him and nearly put a rather large crease in his forehead. The bludger didn't slow down or change direction as it continued to chase Harry. The deadly chase continued until Harry felt the snitch pop up somewhere. Suddenly it was right there in front of Harry and another chase was on. Malfoy dropped in right behind him and the battle for the snitch – and to stay away from the crazed bludger was on. Harry was operating on automatically, trusting his senses to properly guide him. All four participants in the crazy chase, the snitch, Harry behind it, Malfoy behind Harry, and the rogue bludger behind Malfoy shot into the structure of the stands. Harry was suddenly reminded of a Star Wars video game he had played back home in the village where the x-wings and the tie fighters were dodging various parts of the death star during the battle. Funny he should think of that at a time like this.

Harry stretched out over his broom making him self a smaller target for the damn bludger and to increase his speed. The four of them raced in and out, up and down, and through the structure, people getting flashes of them. Harry and Malfoy did what they could to hang onto their broom and to keep from getting knocked off. The bludger was edging closer and closer to Malfoy and Harry could feel the fear coming off the kid but he hung in there his desire to beat Harry strong. Harry had to admit the kid had balls. The chase continued for another twenty minutes, the crowd now captivated by the chase and people were beginning to realize something was wrong. Harry watched for his chance and suddenly the snitch pulled a u-turn towards Harry. It was either reaction or instinct, Harry wasn't sure what it was, but he whipped his hand out there and caught the snitch as it shot past him. In doing so, Harry's momentary lapse of concentration allowed the bludger to catch up to him and rammed Harry's left elbow hard, smashing the elbow to bits and breaking the forearm bones right down the middle. Harry snarled from the pain and cursed him self for forgetting the damn thing. He slowed up and Malfoy crashed into him. Both of them lost their hold on their broom and headed downstairs at a very fast rate of speed. Harry reacted by grabbing Malfoy and yanking him up above him so when they crashed into the ground Harry would be on the bottom saving Malfoy from serious injury. Sometimes there is such a thing as stupid luck, and this was one of those times. Harry landed into a thick patch of mud and Malfoy landed on top of him, driving Harry deeper into the mud. The shock of the abrupt landing stunned Harry for the moment, and then his head cleared in time to realize the bludger was coming for him dead on. Harry threw Malfoy to the right out of the mud hole and rolled to the left over his now damaged left arm and gritted his teeth as the pain spiked badly. He felt the shock wave from the bludger impacting the ground just bare inches from his back as he rolled to the left. Harry got to his feet and backed off a few paces and pulled his wand. He fired the cutting curse the moment the bludger made its appearance, showering Harry with mud, water, bits of grass, and dirt. The bludger exploded in small pieces, the metal shrapnel flying in all directions, some of them cutting up Harry's face and arms. Harry staggered a few paces more backwards and then grit his teeth as he managed to raise his left hand and waved the snitch to the crowd that was racing towards him, Lockhart in the lead and Harry knew nothing good was going to come of Lockhart trying to help him.

"Oh look," Harry called out as he held up the snitch, darkness creeping in from the edges of his vision, "I managed to catch the damn thing."

Then he fell backwards and passed out.

Harry woke up slow, a sure sign that he was hurting bad. He recognized the hospital wing from his previous stay a few weeks back.

[I hate hospitals,] Harry snarled as the pain in his body spiked momentarily.

He blinked in the dark and realized that night had fallen seeing the darkness outside the window of the opposing wall. He lay there trying to overcome the pain by sheer will alone. Once he was able to get a grip on it he tried sitting up. This time he succeeded and came face to face with the crazy elf named Dobby. Before Dobby could do anything Harry had his right hand around the elf's throat and yanked him in up close and personal.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" Harry snarled, trying to keep a grip on his temper. "Why do you insist in pissing me off with all of this?"

Dobby gulped. "Dobby wants to protect Harry Potter sir," he whispered. "The bad thing is happening now! Harry Potter must leave right now!"

"Not going to happen bub," Harry snarled. "You are going to tell me everything right freaking now."

Before Dobby could answer the question the doors to the hospital were flung open and torches sprang to life. Dobby popped away as Harry was distracted.

[Damn it! Some ninja I'm turning out to be!] Harry cursed himself as he lay back down in the bed and listened.

He could see through the curtain two shadows. One was floating, the other was using their want to levitate the first. Harry knew if he was patient he would get answers.

"Poppy!" a voice called out and Harry recognized it as Dumbledore.

Something must have happened to somebody.

"Albus!" the nurse came running. "What is it?"

"A student has been attacked," Dumbledore said.

"Is he…?" she asked.

"No. He has been petrified," Dumbledore said.

Harry had heard enough. He slid out of bed and landed on his bare feet. Note to self. Make sure you land in slippers first. A freezing cold stone floor is not kind to bare feet. Harry came round the curtain blocking his bed to see a small boy lying in the bed, a camera up to his face.

"Colin Creevey," Harry identified him.

Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey turned to see Harry standing there.

"Mr. Potter!" Pomfrey exclaimed. "You should be in bed!"

Dumbledore patted her shoulder getting her to quiet down.

"Are you sure, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry moved up next to Colin. "I'm sure, Professor. That's Colin Creevey, a second year Gryffindor. He has a habit of carrying his camera everywhere. His ambition is to be a photographer. His current project is to create a photo book chronicling a year at Hogwarts. Some of his pictures are really good."

The two adults turned back to Colin and Harry went over to the fireplace. He tossed in a handful of floo powder.

"McGonagall, Hogwarts!" Harry called into the flames.

A moment later McGonagall's face appeared. "Mr. Potter? What's happened?"

"It's Colin Creevey, professor. He's in the hospital. He's been attacked and petrified," Harry informed her.

She disappeared from the fireplace and Harry knew she was coming. He went back to his bed and sat on it. Pomfrey came over and waved her wand around Harry.

"Your bones in your left arm are growing back nicely," she stated. "You still have a long way to go."

Harry blinked. "My bones are growing back?"

Pomfrey nodded. "Lockhart banished all of the bones in your left arm yesterday."

Harry growled. That bastard now had become a threat.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Unharmed," she said.

"You saved his life, Harry. Thirty points to Ravenclaw," the quiet voice of Dumbledore spoke. "I am not familiar with cameras. Perhaps his brother Dennis can assist us in trying to solve this mystery."

"Albus!" McGonagall called from the doorway.

McGonagall had arrived.

Harry woke up mid morning and lay there for a bit until he felt strong enough to try sitting up. He sat there for a time gathering his strength. He looked down at his left hand and it seemed solid to him. He tried wiggling his fingers and to his relief they worked. He used his right hand to examine his left arm and it was solid like it should be. He looked down and didn't see any slippers so he conjured up a pair that was nice and fluffy inside and dark brown leather on the outside. He put his feet inside them and they felt so nice and warm. Harry went over to Colin's bed to check on the kid. The camera was gone but Colin was still frozen. Harry had hoped that Madame Pomfrey managed to help him. Harry went to the window and looked out over the grounds as his mind worked on the problem at hand.

"Good morning Harry," Dumbledore said from behind him.

Harry turned to see the old man standing there. "Good morning professor."

"Would you like some tea? Warm you up," Dumbledore said.

Harry pulled a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around him self before joining Dumbledore at the small table. The first cup of tea did go down nice and hot. Harry sighed and sat back.

"Professor Lockhart has been asked to leave the medical emergencies to Madame Pomfrey in the future. He wishes to make his apologies," Dumbledore stated after a few moments of silence.

Harry nodded. Harry had a second cup of tea and he felt a lot warmer than he did a few minutes ago.

"Was Dennis Creevey able to get anything from the camera?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "Unfortunately he was not. The film inside had been ruined."

"Damn. That would have gone a long way to solving the situation," Harry said.

"It would have, yes. Miss Granger has informed me that she is on the case. Her skill as a researcher will help us," Dumbledore said.

Harry chuckled at that. "Truedat."

"How are you feeling this morning?" Dumbledore asked as Madame Pomfrey appeared and saw them sitting there.

Dumbledore conjured a third chair and cup for her.

"I feel pretty good. My arm feels solid and I'm able to wiggle all the fingers on my left hand," Harry reported.

Pomfrey pulled her wand and scanned Harry's left arm and nodded. "Go easy on it for a few weeks, Mr. Potter. You can leave anytime you wish."

Harry grinned. "Thank you Madame Pomfrey."

Harry stood up and went back to the bed he had been in to get his clothes. He found a pair of jeans and a shirt on the table nearby the bed. He got dressed and left the hospital, heading back to the Ravenclaw Tower. He entered the common room and people turned to see him there. Davies was the first to react.

"Harry!" he grinned, going over to Harry. "You're back!"

The Ravenclaws that were there surrounded Harry and greeted him. Harry took a chair and people gathered around.

"The last thing I remember was holding up the snitch and telling people that I had the thing. What happened after that?" Harry asked.

Davies grew somber. "Lockhart tried to cast a healing spell on you and removed all the bones in your left arm."

"Found that out," Harry nodded to Davies.

"Pomfrey got pissed off at him and chewed him out for that," Davies grinned.

Harry grinned. "Wish I could have seen that."

"That idiot Weasley cheered when he heard about your injury. Some of us kicked his butt for the insults," Davies informed Harry.

"Yeah, and it was fun, too!" a voice piped up.

Everybody laughed at that one.

"Well, try not to make it a habit," Harry said. "Don't need you guys in trouble."

Davies turned back to Harry. "Malfoy was shaken up by it all. Rumor has it that he hasn't been sleeping well since it happened. Malfoy senior wanted you to get a commendation for saving his son. Professor Flitwick can tell you the rest. As for the standings, we are well ahead of Gryffindor. We play them in early December."

"Good. That gives me lots of time to get back in shape," Harry said.

Davies nodded. "Go it easy. An injury like that even though you are completely healed up back to where it was before can be hard to recover from sometimes."

"That's what Madame Pomfrey said too," Harry informed him as people began going back to what they had been doing before Harry arrived.

Davies nodded. "Good. Glad you're back, Harry. Glad you're okay."

Davies got up and went back to what he had been doing before Harry arrived. Harry turned back to the fire and stared into it for some time. He could hear people coming and going for a bit and then the room went quiet. Harry glanced up at the big clock over the fireplace ant it was nine thirty in the morning. Harry stretched out on the couch and propped up some pillows behind his head and closed his eyes for a rest.

Harry woke up in time for lunch. He went back to his dorm and changed into something more comfortable and pulled his Ravenclaw robe on before heading down to the great hall. People greeted him as he passed them by. Getting to the Ravenclaw table he glanced up to the head table and Dumbledore met his gaze and nodded. Harry nodded back and turned his attention back to his empty plate. He got what he asked for, a beef vegetable stir fry with brown rice. He picked up his chopsticks and went to work on his lunch. By the time he was done eating Harry was feeling a lot better. He listened to the talk going on around him and most people were still talking about the match. Harry glanced up at the head table and noted Professor Flitwick looking at him. Harry stood up and headed for the double doors of the great hall.

"Mr. Potter," Flitwick called from behind him.

Harry opened the door to a small room nearby and stepped back to allow Flitwick to enter. The torched flared to life in the room, revealing a couple of chairs surrounding a coffee table in the center of the room. Harry waited for Flitwick to take a seat before he took one himself.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Flitwick wanted to know.

"Much better now that I had lunch," Harry replied.

Flitwick nodded. "Very good. Madame Pomfrey informed me that you are to take it easy for a couple of days before starting any kind of a workout with the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Mr. Davies agreed with us."

"I plan on taking it easy for a few days, professor. That was a major injury and I want to make sure I'm going to be okay before starting any kind of workout," Harry stated as he leaned back.

"Good. The rest of the day is yours. You start classes tomorrow," Flitwick informed him.

"Thank you sir," Harry nodded.

Harry decided to go up to the library for the rest of the day. He really wasn't in the mood for reading anything related to his classes so he wandered into the fiction area. It was just as big as the other sections and Harry started browsing the books looking for something to read. Much to his surprise he discovered a lot of books that had been written by muggle writers. He eventually found himself in the science fiction section and discovered the Star Trek books. He took one down and retreated to the nearest chair and began reading Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the movie that kicked off the Star Trek series all over again. Harry was deep into the book when he sensed somebody standing in front of him. He looked up to find Hermione standing there in front of him.

"Hey," he said, lowering the book into his lap.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" she asked him.

"Pretty good. Everybody wants me to take it easy for a bit before starting back with the team. How's your research going?" Harry asked.

"Slow," Hermione replied as she sat down next to him. "I've been looking into spells that can petrify people. Haven't found any even though I've come very close with a couple. Dumbledore rejected them because they didn't quite match what he found with Colin in the hospital."

"You knew about Colin?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. His younger brother Dennis told us about it. It's a shame the negatives couldn't be saved. Could have helped us."

"I've been thinking about that," Harry said as his mind went back to work on the problem. "He had to be looking through the camera at the time he was petrified. What if the film inside his camera protected him from something worse?"

Hermione's right eyebrow lifted and Harry knew that she hadn't considered that possibility. She whipped out her little notebook and wrote down the idea.

"Thanks Harry," and she dashed off.

Harry smiled and shook his head. He was sure he would hear something later. He went back to his book to find out what Decker and Kirk were going to do with the android.

Harry was headed back to the Ravenclaw Tower after dinner when he heard what sounded like a scuffle going on ahead of him. Harry popped his wand out of the holster he had strapped to his left forearm and cautiously approached. He saw at least four Ravenclaw girls surrounding another one and when he saw who it was he moved in to stop the situation. He didn't see or hear Penelope Clearwater coming up behind him.

"Hey," he called out, "What's going on?"

One of the girls turned to face him. "None of your business, Potter! Go away!"

He looked past the girl to see Luna Lovegood cringing and knew she was getting bullied.

"Can't do that, sorry," Harry stated.

"Can't you see that we're having a friendly conversation with the loony, Potter?" one girl asked Harry, putting her arm around Luna.

Harry watched Luna shrink into her self and knew that was a lie.

"Looks more like harassment to me," Harry said.

The first girl raised her wand and pointed it directly at Harry. "Leave Potter, or else."

Harry smiled as he shifted his position. "Can't do that, sorry. Let her go, and I won't say anything to Professor Flitwick."

"That little prick?" the second girl spat. "He can't do shit! I could kick his ass!"

Harry sensed Clearwater coming up on his right and Flitwick was coming from the other direction. Harry decided to let them make the first move.

"Can you now Miss?" Flitwick spoke up.

Harry watched as all four girls reacted in shock. They immediately backed away from Luna and Penelope immediately reached out and drew Luna away from them as Flitwick stood there with his hands behind his back looking on. Nothing was said for a few minutes and then Flitwick turned to Harry and Penelope.

"Mr. Potter, can you escort Miss Lovegood into my office? I need to escort the ladies to the headmaster's office," Flitwick said.

Harry and Penelope escorted Luna into Flitwick's office. Harry brought her a cup of tea while Penelope produced a hanky from a pocket. Harry had been in here before but never had the chance to look around. So while Penelope talked to Luna Harry looked around Flitwick's office. Flitwick certainly had gotten around in his lifetime. The man had all kinds of nick knacks on shelves and in other places. Harry recognized a few Japanese items and inspected them. He turned back to the girls and noted that Luna seemed to be okay now. He'd heard of Luna but never really met her up to now. She had long blond hair, her face appeared to be pale, her eyes had that dreamy far away look within them, and she was short for her age. Harry had heard the talk about her in the common room and she had been described as being loony as she was constantly talking about strange creatures. The door opened and Flitwick walked in. He regarded the three of them for a moment and nodded.

"The headmaster decided it was best to separate quarters for Miss Lovegood. As for the four girls, they will be attending detention with Mr. Filch," Flitwick announced.

Harry shivered. A detention with Filch was like going to hell from the things he had heard about the man. Better them than him!

"I'll see to her new arrangements, Professor Flitwick," Penelope said.

Flitwick nodded. "Good. You and Mr. Potter are to take twenty points each for going to the aid of a Ravenclaw."

Harry had the feeling that Lovegood would become a valuable ally to him and decided to approach her cautiously and start a conversation and see where that went. If he worked things just right he could draw her into a little group he was planning on starting with Hermione and Neville. But first he needed them to learn how to protect their minds. With Hermione that would be fairly easy as all he needed to do was pop up with one of the books from his trunk and casually mention that he had a very interesting book in his trunk, would she like to read it? Harry knew she would snap it up in a heartbeat. That went a lot better than he ever hoped it would.

"Oh yes Harry, I'd love to!" she exclaimed as Harry showed her the book he had tucked under his arm the next morning. "I've heard about occlumency, but haven't had the opportunity to learn about it until now."

"You're welcome to borrow the book if you like," Harry said calmly on the outside as his inner Harry was doing cartwheels in excitement at a plan well executed.

Hermione took the book and slipped it into her book bag and headed off to her first class of the day. Neville shook his head.

"That was very sneaky of you Harry," he said.

"What makes you say that, Neville?" Harry asked him with an 'I'm innocent' look on his face.

Neville laughed. "Because you wanted her to read it and learn the art for some unknown reason. I have the same book and I'm reading it myself."

Inner Harry started jumping for joy once more. "That's great, Neville. I learned it my self and it's helped me tremendously with memory retention. I remember key points from the various lectures I've heard. Having my mind well organized allows me to recall most anything immediately."

Neville snapped up the bait. "I wonder if Hermione would be willing to work with me on that, as she tends to explain things much better than most people."

"Good idea Neville," Harry encouraged him.

"See you at lunch?" Neville asked.

Harry nodded. "Sure. I'll see you then."

Harry watched Neville heading off to class and then he turned to go to Flitwick's class.

Harry listened to Hermione and Neville discuss occlumency during lunch. It seemed to him that Hermione had a firm grasp on the basics after reading the first few chapters of the book. Harry had the feeling that they would have it down perfectly by the Christmas Holidays. If they did, he could approach them. He had a very strong feeling that they were destined to become his allies in the years ahead. He hoped to include Luna and the Weasley Twins in that group as well. He needed to sound out Hermione first, and that wouldn't happen until the holidays. For now he planned on keeping up his friendship with her. Not just because he needed her help, but because he liked her as a friend. There was something that intrigued him about her and he didn't know what it was. Harry cracked his neck once more and turned back to his current assignment, a report on the properties of a plant for potions class. Snape had been extremely harsh with him of late and Harry knew why. Snape had been pissed off because of the house points his snakes lost due to the attack on Harry by Malfoy and his crew because McGonagall had caught them at the scene of the crime. Malfoy and his crew made sure to make an effort to cross paths with Harry and try to harass him into doing something so Snape could get him into a detention with him but everything they said and did failed. From words to deeds, everything Malfoy tried failed. The last attempt had gotten them in trouble with Filch and they ended up in his sadistic claws and he made them scrub down the bathrooms without magic. Unfortunately Malfoy and crew weren't the only ones attacking Harry. Ron Weasley had been doing it too, only he was by him self now as he lost what little friends he had after their parents had warned them to stand clear of him. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan made their apologies to Harry and then according to rumor confronted Ron Weasley and told him to sod off and to leave Potter alone. Some people just never learn and Ron Weasley was definitely one of them. Ron confronted Harry one Sunday morning on his way down to the great hall for breakfast. Ron had gotten in his way and for five minutes straight he treated Harry to a full blown rant laced with all kinds of insults and interesting words as Harry stood there, hands in his pockets and waited for Ron to wear him self out. Harry pulled his ipod out of his pocket and pulled one of the ear buds out of one ear and looked at Ron.

"What was that you say? Couldn't hear you, I was listening to my favorite Rush song, really cool. Off to breakfast, see ya later, ta!"

With that Harry stuck the ear bud back into his ear and walked off as people laughed at Ron. Ron's reputation was zero by now and all of Gryffindor House wanted him gone. Hell, all of Hogwarts wanted him gone but Dumbledore kept telling people that Ron would change, that he needed a chance to prove him self if people would let him. Ron kept going with his 'hate Harry' crusade. Snape was getting on his nerves, too. His nasty comments and his constant attempts to bait Harry on a daily basis was driving him spare and he did all he could to control his temper and not give in to them. Snape reserved his worst comments about James Potter and Harry really worked to keep from reacting. Lockhart was forth on the list of annoying people for the simple reason was that he was an idiot, plain and simple. The female population of Hogwarts loved him. The male population of Hogwarts hated his ass. Lockhart demonstrated very well just what kind of moron he was at the first class by releasing Cornish Pixies into the room and they promptly tore it apart. Harry, Hermione, and Neville spent the time catching the pixies and stuffing them back into their cage. Every class since then Lockhart had talked about nothing but him self, how great he was, and trying to charm the girls. But now he had topped himself, and in a big way, too. He had started a dueling club. Harry stood in front of the bulletin board in the Ravenclaw common room and stared at the notice. People around him looked at the notice and the girls all got very excited as the guys muttered amongst themselves. Harry had the feeling that nothing good was going to come out of this, and that he would be dragged into the middle of it.

To Be Continued


	4. Lockhart's Dueling Club

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 04

By David

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling has that pleasure.

'[]' indicate Japanese spoken

'' indicate Parseltounge spoken

Ninja Wizard: Chamber of Secrets 04

'Lockhart's Defense Club'

Harry heard the other Ravenclaw boys groaning behind him as the news spread. The girls were getting excited at finding out that Lockhart was going to start a defense club in the great hall Friday evening. Harry shook his head and sighed. The man couldn't teach anybody anything at all. Harry decided a quick trip to the library to look up Lockhart and see what he could find out. Hermione popped up as Harry was going through the card catalog.

"Looking for something Harry?" she asked him.

"Information on Gilderoy Lockhart," Harry said, pausing long enough to look up at her and then back down to what he was doing.

"Oh, like his past?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, that. I am curious as to what house he was in when he spent time here as a student, what he did afterwards, and so on."

"By chance would it have anything to do with his dueling club on Friday?" Hermione asked Harry, getting a reaction from him.

"It would. I don't like the guy. That's obvious to everybody by now. I get a bad feeling from the guy. I can't tell you what it is because I don't know what it is myself. His books are more about him than defense. They read more like fiction than anything else. Did he really do all of the stuff he claims he did? I don't think so," Harry said, turning back to the card catalog.

Hermione watched him for a few minutes and then pulled a bit of paper out of her book bag and started writing down the names of books Harry found. The first one they found was the section where the Hogwarts yearbooks were kept. From there they found a few other books and that was it. Harry nearly laughed his ass off when he saw Lockhart's first year picture. He looked like a scrawny kid. By his seventh year he looked better. That made Harry wonder if Lockhart had his looks changed.

"Plastic surgery?" Hermione asked Harry.

Harry scratched his chin for a moment. "It's possible. Look at the pictures, starting when he was eleven and then his seventh year."

Hermione did, and as she studied them, realized that Harry had been right.

"We both know that plastic surgery would take far too long. He had to have been doing it with magical means," Hermione concluded.

Harry nodded. "That's right. Slowly, over time, as people would start asking questions if he suddenly popped up one day looking like a super model."

Hermione scribbled something down on paper as she walked away. Harry knew now that she was on the case once more. He put the Hogwarts Yearbooks back on the shelf where they belonged and went looking for other books. In roughly an hour's time Harry had gathered plenty of information on Lockhart's family and learned some very interesting facts. Lockhart's family was not wealthy, and had looks that would make a pig swoon. In short, the whole family was butt ugly. It explained why Lockhart had changed his looks with magical means. He also wondered where Lockhart had lived during his Hogwarts years, if he didn't stay with his family. Harry pulled a sheet of paper to him and began writing down things as they came to mind, including a few questions as well. Harry smiled as he imagined getting Lockhart to consume a bit of truth potion and asking him questions. Harry wrote down the idea just in case. He hoped he would get that opportunity to do the deed. Harry used the copy spell to move the pictures of Lockhart and his family to blank sheets of paper and then put the books back and the papers in his pack. He left the library and headed back to Ravenclaw Tower for the night.

It seemed to Harry that Lockhart's dueling club was all anyone could talk about for the next few days after the announcement had been made. If anyone was to run a defense club, it should have been Professor Flitwick as he was a dueling champion a few times over before he came to Hogwarts. He clearly was the better choice for the job. Harry wondered just what the hell Dumbledore was thinking when he took on Lockhart for the DADA job. Harry privately wondered if he could do a better job than Lockhart. Harry didn't have the time to worry about Lockhart as he was working hard in his classes and the last thing he needed was the man on his mind. He was currently in the library working on an essay for transfigurations that was due the next day. He was in one of the back rows when something triggered his senses to impending danger. Harry immediately shifted from relaxed mode into fully alert mode. He could feel people there in the library, in the middle section and at the other end. The section Harry was in was seldom used. Harry followed the bad feeling until he found the person. He could feel the killing intent coming at him this person hated him so bad. Harry popped his wand from inside his robe and began moving out of that particular section. He moved quickly and quietly, leaving the person behind. There were times and places for a fight and Harry decided this was not one of those times. He was in the library, and someone could get hurt. Madame Pince would throw a major fit if anything happened to her books. Harry did not want to get on her bad side. Harry made it to the end of that row and started going up the middle. He could feel the person moving behind him. Harry suddenly sensed a few of the first years up ahead of him and he knew they could be hurt if the attacker saw them. Harry came out of that section and moved into another row of shelves when it happened. Harry heard the sound of a spell being cast but nothing came at him. Harry kept moving as he tried to figure it out and then he heard it. Creaking sounds and then a thump followed by the sound of books hitting the floor. The bastard has knocked over the bookcases! Harry moved faster and got out of that row. Now he was between a wall and the bookcases and moving fast to get out of there before the avalanche of books and bookcases caught him. Suddenly Harry sensed a pair of first years in one of the rows. Harry got to the row and turned into it. Now he saw them, twin brothers, and they were huddled together, having heard the noise and it scared them. Harry didn't stop, he grabbed the two first year Slytherins and held onto them as he raced down the row, making it to the center aisle and started down that. He burst out of the bookcases in the nick of time as the last of them went crashing down behind them. Harry saw the horror on the faces of the onlookers and knew it had been bad. He kept going until he was out of range and then he put the two first years down on their feet. He instantly turned around bringing up his wand to face his attacker but the person was gone. Harry stood down and then turned around. Pansy Parkinson, in a rare moment of compassion, had taken the two first years into her arms as both of them were bawling their heads off. And then Madame Pince found her voice.

Harry sat in Dumbledore's office feeling drained both physically and emotionally. The attack had unsettled him greatly. Getting who knows how many books dropped on your head can ruin someone's day, and Harry's day definitely had been ruined. Flitwick was there, as well as Madame Pince, McGonagall, and the ever sneering Professor Snape. But not this time. He looked extremely pissed, but it wasn't Harry he was angry with.

"If not for Potter, headmaster, those twins would have been squished under all of those books. This cannot be overlooked, Albus. I shudder to think of the parent's reaction to this," Snape said. "We need to find this person, and now."

"My precious books!" Madame Pince cried.

Dumbledore sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Harry, did you see the person?"

Harry shook his head. "No sir. My only clue was the spell cast at me and then the loud creaking of the bookcases. The spell this person used had to be a strong one because these bookcases are tall and heavy. The only thing that could knock them over is an earthquake, and a strong one at that."

"I agree with Mr. Potter," McGonagall said.

"I have an Auror looking over the scene. He should be able to find the spells used and the magical signature on those spells. Once he does then we will know who it was," Dumbledore said. "Harry, one hundred points to you for saving the lives of those two first years at a great risk of yours."

"I did what I had to, professor. They would have gotten hurt badly. Last I saw of them Pansy Parkinson was leading them out of the library," Harry said.

"They are currently resting in their dorm under the watchful eye of the other first years. I gave them potions to calm them and then sleep," Snape said.

"Very good Severus. I will talk to them later," Dumbledore stated as a knock sounded on the door. "Come in."

A tall black man with a bald head walked in.

"Ah, Auror Shacklebolt. What have you discovered?" Dumbledore asked.

The man smiled and Harry took that as his cue to leave. He stood up and went to the door. Dumbledore nodded with a smile knowing Harry had understood that this was to be a private conversation. He decided to go back to his dorm as he was feeling tired and get some rest.

When Harry came down for dinner he discovered the hall buzzing with the news of the incident in the library. Harry looked for the twins and saw them sitting with their housemates. Harry went over to them and they saw Harry coming.

"Hi," Harry greeted them. "Wanted to make sure you guys are okay."

"We will be," one of them said. "I'm Seth and this is my brother Jack."

Harry shook their hands. "Nice to meet you guys. Glad to see that you guys are okay. Don't hesitate to go see Professor Snape if you guys need to talk to somebody."

The other Slytherins all nodded at that.

"We will," Jack said.

Harry went to his table and as he sat down he looked up at the high table and Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and Flitwick all nodded to him. Harry nodded back and the evening meal began. Right at the end Dumbledore stood and moved to the podium and the hall went quiet.

"I am sure all of you know by now the incident in the library. This is a most serious and grievous thing. It goes beyond trying to hurt somebody. It was attempted murder. Mr. Potter and the Allen Twins could have been killed. But they were not, as Mr. Potter reacted to the threat immediately, and in doing so, discovered the Allen Twins and saved their lives. For that, I have given Harry Potter one hundred points," Dumbledore said as the hall applauded. "I have called the Aurors in to investigate and they have discovered the spells used and most importantly, who it was. The student in question was expelled. His wand will be snapped at his trial. His name shall nevermore be spoken in these halls from this moment forward."

There were murmurs of agreement and everybody went back to their dinners. Harry sighed and went back to his, but ate slowly as the day's events still weighed heavy on his mind. Harry went up to the library after dinner and went to the section that had been ruined. He pulled off his robe and set it aside, drawing his wand and getting to work pulling the books out of the mess and setting them aside. A few moments later the Weasley Twins joined Harry. Neville showed up and began helping. A couple of the Hufflepuffs arrived, and so did a few of the Ravenclaws, with Madame Pince and Flitwick behind them. It was nearly midnight when the last book got pulled out from underneath the bookcases. They were then directed to leave it until tomorrow and sent to bed. Harry sighed as he slid under the covers of his bed. He hoped tomorrow would be a much better day that today had been.

The common room was buzzing with the excited talk about the dueling club starting up later that night. Harry groaned to himself as he had forgotten all about it with yesterday's business. He followed a few of the Ravenclaws down to breakfast and wondered who Lockhart was going to pair up with for this little club of his. He hoped it would be Flitwick. He wanted to see someone kick Lockhart's behind. He went to sit down in a chair and read whatever book he found on a nearby shelf before it was time to go down to the great hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to go down," Flitwick called out, making Harry look up from his book.

Everyone in the common room turned to look at Flitwick. Harry had the feeling that Flitwick was royally pissed but he seemed to be doing a great job holding it in. Luna Lovegood moved up behind Harry.

"Professor Flitwick is doing a great job keeping the Nargles out of his head, don't you think?" Luna said to Harry.

Harry nodded. "He is indeed. They induce anger in a person don't they?"

Luna nodded. "Oh yes, Harry. It would not do for him to give in to them."

The Ravenclaws followed Flitwick out of the common room and down to the great hall. It had been changed for tonight's event. The house tables were gone except for the heat table. In the center of the hall was a dueling platform, a long rectangle wide enough to allow the duelers to move around a bit. Harry wondered if there were any shields that would protect the crowd from getting hurt. Everybody crowded around the dueling platform and waited for something to happen. That something did happen when Lockhart jumped up on the dueling platform wearing a long flowing cape instead of his usual robes. He beamed brightly at everybody and all the girls sighed.

"He doesn't impress me one bit," Luna said into Harry's left ear. "He's been blinded by a Wrackspurt."

Harry wanted to laugh at what Luna had just said but he kept his peace and agreed. Harry suddenly remembered a line from a Metallica song he had heard two weeks ago.

"Fortune, fame, mirror vain, gone insane," he quoted and Luna nodded.

"That's what they do, Harry. They can't touch you because you're too strong for them," Luna said.

"Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me?" Lockhart crowed as he strutted up and down the platform. "Good! Because of recent events, Professor Dumbledore gave me permission to start up a dueling club. So with the help of my assistant Professor Snape, who had kindly agreed to assist me as he had informed me he had a bit of dueling experience, we shall get started!"

He beamed as Snape mounted the platform and walked over to Lockhart as Slytherin house broke out in very loud cheers. Snape leaned forwards and said something to Lockhart, which made the man pale a bit, and Harry had an idea what it was, something along of being used for potion ingredients. Lockhart stepped away from Snape and waved his left hand and the room settled down.

"Now then," he said gaily, "there might come a time in which you might have to defend yourself. There are rules to follow in a duel…"

Harry tuned him out as he had read all about it in some of the books down in his trunk. The rules were fine in a formal duel, but Harry doubted that a DE would follow the rules, in which case the duel became an 'anything goes' down and dirty fight, one that Harry was determined to win at all costs. It was why he trained very hard two hours every morning down in his personal training room. He measured his progress by the number of attacking dummies he stacked up in the corner and judging by the pile he was making of recent, he was doing damn well, thank you very much. He snapped to when Snape moved to his side of the platform and took up a stance. Harry grinned as he realized just what was going to happen. Snape and Lockhart in a duel! Lockhart grandly swept his cape off him and dropped it to the side, on top of a couple of first year girls, who then grabbed the cape and sighed dreamily at Lockhart. All eyes turned to the inside of the dueling platform. Harry saw Snape smirk and knew this was going to be good. They commenced with the ritual beginning the duel and before Lockhart could do anything Snape struck with the speed of an attacking snake, blowing Lockhart off the platform and into the wall. Slytherin house immediately broke out into cheers and Snape smiled victoriously. Harry suddenly wondered if there was ways to speed draw a wand, as he hadn't seen Snape move, and yet the wand appeared in his hand almost instantaneously. Harry made a mental note to find out.

A group of third year girls went running for Lockhart and helped him up as they glared at Snape. Snape crossed his arms and merely sneered at them. Lockhart managed to get to his feet and instantly beamed.

"Expelliarmus! The disarming spell! Well done, Professor Snape!" Lockhart called out as he bounded back onto the platform. "No worries, ladies! I am just fine! I allowed that to happen so you can see what the Expelliarmus does! Now, there is a way to block that spell and it is called Protego. It is a shield that protects you from most spells. I shall demonstrate Expelliarmus while Professor Snape demonstrates Protego!"

He turned to face Snape and attacked. Snape simply flicked his wand upward and a blue colored field appeared and sent Lockhart's spell upward to fizzle out before it got to the ceiling. Lockhart beamed once more. He really is an idiot, Harry thought, shaking his head as Snape smirked once more. It was obvious to all that Snape was enjoying this.

"And that is how Expelliarmus and Protego works!" Lockhart called out grandly. "Now how about all of you give it a try?"

The next few minutes were spent organizing everybody into groups and getting a partner for the exercise. Harry suddenly found himself facing Ron Weasley, of all people. He grinned evilly at Harry.

"I'm going to enjoy this, Potter. My big chance to show the world how wimpy you are!" Ron Weasley snarled.

This was not good. Harry knew he needed to be careful with Weasley in front of him. He watched him carefully for the signs that he was going to attack. In the various books he had read from professional duelers, each one had given different advice on what to watch for. His instructors back home had done the same thing, given him advice on what he should watch for. Harry stood there completely relaxed, his wand in his left hand, the left side of his body facing Weasley, and watched him for any of those signs while remaining aware of what was going on around him. He heard Lockhart declare his group was to block while Weasley's group was to attack. At the signal Ron Weasley attacked. Harry had his wand up in seconds and Protego up. He felt the magic flowing through him. He felt the magic within him desire to protect him and it was then that Harry had an epiphany. It wasn't about wands, staffs, crystals, or other focus devices. It was all about intent, the intent to cast the magic, to either defend or destroy, to build up or bring it down. His wand was merely a tool for the job, and yet Harry knew he could do this wandlessly as he had done before with very simple spells in his trunk, like calling a book to him or something small. Harry decided right then he needed to start running down books on wandless magic. Time to go back to his personal library.

Ron Weasley's spell splashed harmlessly against Harry's shield. His shield was a deep blue and Harry wondered if that indicated strength. He needed to ask Flitwick later. Now the roles were reversed and Harry was to attack. Harry watched Ron set himself and snarl at Harry. Harry smiled and inclined his head at Ron. On the signal Harry fired off Expelliarmus, shattering Ron's weak shield and blowing the redhead back a few feet. Harry walked over to Ron and offered him a hand up but Ron slapped it away.

"Don't need help from you, you Dark Lord wanna be!" Ron snarled.

Harry nodded and walked away as McGonagall walked up to Ron. Harry didn't hear the conversation but he was sure it was something along the lines of bringing shame to the Gryffindors and assigning a detention. Harry turned around and found Neville in front of him. He nodded to Neville.

"Neville, don't worry about trying not to hurt me. Just concentrate on the spell. Put intent into it. Cast it like you mean it," Harry said and Neville nodded.

People around then heard what Harry said and thought that was good advice. On the signal Neville cast Expelliarmus and Harry put up his shield. Neville's strike was a good one as it took on a deep color red. Harry's shield held.

"That was a great one, Neville!" Harry exclaimed as he crossed over and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Same thing for the shield. You have to really want it to be there. Picture it as a solid wall in front of you."

Harry took his place and as he did so, he missed McGonagall and Flitwick nodding to each other. The command was given once more and Harry cast at Neville. He could see the concentration on the other boy's face and just before his spell got there, a medium blue shield popped up, blocking the spell. Harry grinned as Neville got excited. Deep down inside of him Harry had the feeling that Neville was going to become one of his most trusted allies.

"Now that we have warmed up a bit, I need two volunteers up here for an actual duel," Lockhart beamed.

"Potter and Malfoy, I think," Snape drawled from the floor where he was assisting his Slytherins.

"Oho! How marvelous!" Lockhart beamed. "Gentlemen, up here please!"

Harry took one side while Malfoy took the other. Looking into Malfoy's face Harry knew that this wasn't going to be a friendly match.

"Quite simple. One casts Expelliarmus, the other Protego, then you switch off. To win the match, you must successfully tag the other person with Expelliarmus three times," Lockhart beamed.

As Lockhart headed towards Harry, something tripped him up and he fell forward, face planting into the platform. Flitwick immediately levitated Lockhart right out of the dueling ring. Lockhart stumbled back holding his nose and rubbing it. He regained his balance as Flitwick suddenly took on an innocent look. Harry knew instantly it was Flitwick who tripped him up. Harry turned back to Malfoy as Snape cleared the ring.

"Scared Potter?" Malfoy sneered as he took up position.

Harry did the unexpected. He smiled cheerfully at Malfoy. "Of you? Not a chance, old boy!" and laughed.

Harry could see that he through Malfoy off balance as Snape counted down. Harry reacted lightening fast, getting his shot off before Malfoy had a chance to react and knocked him back a bit to the cheers of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. The Slytherins booed, hissed, and cried foul. Harry relaxed as Malfoy got back to his feet and Harry could see the anger on the now seething blond's face. Harry lost his smile and concentrated. Even before Snape barely finished two, Malfoy fired. Harry had been expecting that and he flicked his wand putting up Protego before Malfoy's spell got to him, a nice dark blue shield, and the loud gong sound made by the spell striking it before it ricocheted away got the hall cheering once more. Malfoy was roaring mad now and on the verge of losing his temper. He was becoming very dangerous.

Harry relaxed and waited for Malfoy to calm down and put himself back under control. Harry nodded to Snape indicating he was ready. Snape did the countdown and Malfoy's shield went up between two and three. Harry waited for the end of three and fired his Expelliarmus, the dark red racing towards Malfoy's shield, striking it and shattering it completely, and then striking Malfoy and knocking him over for the second time. Even Ron Weasley was jumping up and down for joy as Malfoy got knocked down on his ass. Malfoy got back up the fire in his eyes unmistakable. He was enraged. Malfoy didn't wait for the count, he flat out fired Expelliarmus right at Harry. Harry coolly took a step back and raised Protego once more, defeating the spell. Malfoy by now was really close to losing it. Harry fired back, his Expelliarmus tagging Malfoy in the right shoulder, spinning the blond around at least twice before he face planted into the floor. Malfoy exploded in anger, jumping to his feet and turning towards Harry. Harry was ready with Protego, but Malfoy fired something else instead.

"SERPENTORIA!" he bellowed, pointing his wand at Harry and a big black snake flew out of the end directly at Harry.

It landed a few feet in front of Harry and before he could do anything about the snake, the unwelcome voice of Lockhart sounded.

"I've got it!" he called out cheerfully.

Harry began to turn as Snape, Flitwick, and McGonagall started to yell at Lockhart. The idiot fired a spell that hit the snake and shot him way up into the ceiling. Harry could see the terror in the snake's face and Harry suddenly realized that animals could feel fear, too. Harry tracked the snake moving upward as he began moving, and suddenly realized it would land on the canvas just inches away from Justin Finch-Fletchley. Before anyone could move, Harry was right there in front of Justin and his friends as the snake landed and bounced off the canvas a few times to stop just inches from Harry's face.

Stop! Harry hissed at the snake. Do no harm!

The snake jerked back and blinked in shock, it's anger forgotten. A human speaker?

Harry nodded. Yes I am. I can speak to snakes. Please, no harm was intended to you. Allow us to send you back to where you came from.

The snake nodded. I will.

The snake moved backwards away from Harry and then turned to look at him.

That blond creature, he was the one to bring me here for evil. Shall I strike him down? the snake rose in front of a now terrified Draco Malfoy, who pissed his pants and then fainted on the spot.

The snake then shook his head with laughter. No. Scaring the piss out of him was enough. Goodbye, human speaker. I shall tell my kind of you.

I am Harry Potter, Harry nodded to Snape. That human will send you back.

Snape cast the spell and the big black snake disappeared. "GET OUT!" he yelled at everybody, snapping them out of their daze.

Harry sighed as he came out of Getsumi no Michi. He felt wiped out and all he wanted to do right now was to go back to his dorm. People slowly left the great hall silently looking back at Harry. He could see that some of them were afraid of him. He sat down on the steps to the platform on his side and wondered what this would do to him now. One of his biggest secrets was now public, and he wasn't sure how this would go over with the people in the school. Flitwick approached Harry.

"Harry, the headmaster wants to see you in his office," Flitwick looked grim.

Harry had a feeling he knew what the conversation would entail.

He paused before the headmaster's door and pulled himself together. He knew that Dumbledore would accuse him of going dark once more and Harry knew he wasn't. He decided to try a different tactic this time. He knocked on the door.

"Come in, Mr. Potter," the headmaster's voice said.

Harry opened the door and walked in. Dumbledore sat behind his desk looking grave. Harry decided to let him take the opening shot.

"Alas, it is as I feared. You speaking Parseltounge means that you are indeed going dark, Harry. I have let you go up to now, Mr. Potter, but now I must have to step in and turn you around back to the light," Dumbledore said.

Harry didn't like the sound of that at all. He headed to the door and stopped as Dumbledore commanded him to. He turned to face the old man.

"I am really tired of you making me out to be dark. I am not dark, not one bit, and I will never walk that road, no matter what you think. I've had the ability to talk to snakes ever since I was little. I discovered the ability quite by accident, and have learned many things from the snakes that I encountered in my lifetime. You know what? I no longer care what you think of me. Go ahead. Proclaim me dark. Scream it from the tallest tower that Hogwarts has. You just stand there screaming about me and fearing that nobody will be listening to you. They say the empty can rattles the most. The sound of your own voice must soothe you, hearing only what you want to hear, and knowing only what you've heard. You're smothered in tragedy, and you're out to save the world. You insist that the weight of the world be on your shoulders. There's much more to life that what you can see through those teeny tiny glasses you wear. But something's wrong with all that you see, including me, when the problem is with you, and too blind to see it and yet you insist on taking it all upon yourself. I hope to God you wake up in time and realize that you are part of the problem, and not the solution. You need to stop playing God with people's lives, and you need to stop fucking around with mine," Harry said very calmly as Dumbledore stood there in complete shock.

Harry pulled open the door and left him there.

Dumbledore slowly sat down at his desk as Harry's word rang through his head. Was Harry right? Had he played himself the fool? Was he really a part of the problem, and not the solution? Dumbledore was suddenly plagued with doubts about what he really was doing. Had fate suddenly turned on him and was now dishing out to him what he had dished out to others? He was no longer sure of himself. The longer he sat there stewing over what Harry had said to him the more he doubted himself until it all came to a head and he got angry. He pounded on his desk with a fist.

"That brat!" he snarled. "That brat thinks he's my superior? Well, we shall see about that!"

Dumbledore reached for a bit of parchment and stopped. No, Skeeter would recognize his handwriting. He smiled as a plan came to mind. Yes he would expose Potter as a Parseltounge. All he had to do was to cast Imperio on a first year and make him write the letter to Skeeter. Dumbledore laughed as he excitedly raced out of his office. He would get his revenge against Potter. Dumbledore went to a spot where he was sure a first year would cross his path. Oh yes, there was one now. He pointed his wand at the first year boy and he came to a halt, his eyes taking on a glassy look. Dumbledore directed him to the nearest room and had him write the letter and leave off his name. Then he directed the boy to go up to the Owlery and send it off. Once that was done he was to go back to the spot where Dumbledore had snared him and he would forget everything and continue on as he was. Dumbledore smiled as he headed back to his office, sure that his mission was done. He smiled as he settled into his chair.

Harry was feeling a bit pissed off so he changed his route and headed up to the Room of Requirement. He was feeling the need to blow off a little steam and he paced back and forth in front of the tapestry thinking of Potter's bar as he named the illusion of a bar that he liked to rock out in every now and then, his band made out of skeletons. The door appeared and he walked in. Yeah, just like he wanted it. A room full of people and his band on the stage. He headed up and picked up the Gibson guitar that was waiting there for him.

"Hey guys," he said to his band, "let's do Metallica tonight."

They started off with 'Sandman' and went from there. Harry had created this particular environment back in first year whenever he felt the need to blow off some steam, be it a bar brawl or going on the stage with the band he created and played his guitar. Tonight he was feeling a bit angry so he played what he called 'angry' songs, and usually they helped him to cool down and blow off his anger in a creative way. Ever since he started doing this his guitar playing had gotten much better and he now enjoyed it. He tried to do it at least once a week and usually had a great time doing it. By the time midnight came around Harry was feeling tired so he called out last dance and they played out 'Final Countdown' for the last one of the night. Harry returned the Gibson to the guitar stand and headed out the door. Sticking to the shadows, he went back to the Ravenclaw Tower entry and made it with no problems. He pulled off his shirt as the sweat made it stick to his skin. He entered the common room only to find Flitwick there.

"Sir," Harry nodded to him.

"Mr. Potter, a word with you please," Flitwick asked.

Harry nodded and sat down in a chair as Flitwick walked across the coffee table to stand in front of him.

"Mr. Potter… Harry," he began, "I have every respect for you and your family. You have proven to be a good student to me, working hard in all of your classes and doing what you can to look after the first years, and Miss Lovegood. Oh yes I know all about that and I have had words with the Ravenclaw prefects. You are more man that any young man I have ever met. Do not let Dumbledore's talk of you going dark get to you, and yes, I know all about that as he speaks to me on a regular basis. The best thing you can do is to let that talk roll off your back like water to ducks. That does not mean you should ignore everything he says and to stop showing him respect, because you should show him respect even though he is acting the fool. Let your actions speak for yourself, and maybe he will start to realize that he was wrong about you."

Harry smiled. Flitwick was on his side.

"Yes sir," he said. "I can do that."

Flitwick. "Good man."

Harry nodded as Flitwick dismissed him.

Harry went down to breakfast as usual the next morning. He got very strange looks as he passed people and he ignored them. He sat down in his usual spot and the owl from the Daily Prophet glided down to where he was with his paper. Harry took it from the owl and offered it a bit of water and a couple strips of ham, which the owl liked. He watched it fly off and turned to the paper. What he saw on the front page made him work at keeping a lid on his temper. A reporter by the name of Rita Skeeter had written an article on yesterday's events. Harry read the entire article claiming an unnamed source had informed her of Harry Potter's Parseltounge ability and recounted every detail of yesterday's dueling club led by Professor Lockhart and the duel between Harry and Draco Malfoy blow for blow. Harry calmly read the complete article and then ate his breakfast as he read the rest of the paper. He knew there would be reaction to this and he was determined not to let it get to him. Harry pondered the list of suspects that could have been the source, and Malfoy was competing with Dumbledore for the top spot on the list. Harry finished his breakfast and then left the table. He headed to his first class of the day, potions with Snape. He settled into his usual spot and waited for people to arrive and the class to start. He kept his mind on the lecture and worked the potion for the day ignoring the whispers going on around him. He made sure to put it into an unbreakable vial and mark it with permanent ink to keep Snape from messing with it and turned it in. He left the classroom and went to lunch as he always did. Double potions with Snape was a hard class to sit in terms of what Snape did and said to Harry. Snape had been warm to him at first but now he had gotten cold and cruel and he wasn't sure why. Harry sighed and headed to his next class, transfigurations. He hoped the rest of his day would get better.

To Be Continued


	5. Harry In Crisis

Ninja Wizard CoS 05

By David

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and company. JK Rowling does.

The holidays are over, time to get back to Harry. I wish you all a successful 2012.

Ninja Wizard CoS 05

'Harry's Crisis'

In the days following the dueling club people avoided Harry. Rumors were beginning to be spread that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin. Hermione approached Harry a few days later as he sat in a far corner in the library. Harry looked up as she sat down at the table on the other side of him and pushed a book to him. Harry took it and began to read what Hermione had discovered. According to the book Salazar Slytherin was well known for his ability to talk to snakes and that Parseltounge was considered to be a dark art trait. Harry sighed as he pushed the book back to Hermione.

"I was talking to snakes when I was five back home in my mother's garden. My Mom freaked out the first time she saw me holding a snake and hissing to it. Once I was able to convince her I was okay and that I understood everything the snake said to me she relaxed after that but I wasn't allowed to bring any of them into the house," Harry smiled at the memory. "I took one family of snakes to the village rice storage and let them loose in there because mice and rats were going after the rice. Didn't take long for them to find the nests and take them out. I still remember how the village elders reacted to the sight of the Daddy snake popping up in the doorway with a big rat in it's jaws and looking very pleased with himself. Once they found out I was responsible for putting them there they asked me to find other snakes for the other food stores. Didn't take long for the rat and mice population to disappear. What surprised me the most was that they said I had been blessed with a gift and to use it wisely."

Harry sighed at the memory. Hermione took the book back and left him there to his thoughts. Harry wondered what was going to happen next and decided to leave that to fate. For the time being he would continue to go on about his daily business. That would prove to be a test to Harry as the talk about him followed him round, especially when the Weasley twins treated it like a joke and would follow him round telling people to step out of the way for the Heir of Slytherin until it got too much for Harry one evening and he turned on them in a show of anger.

"Knock off that shit!" Harry roared at them as he advanced on them, his fists clenched as he tried to control his anger, the twins backing up in shock until they hit a wall as Harry backed them up. "I am tired of you guys doing that to me! Either knock off that shit or I will beat it out of you!"

Harry had stormed off after that leaving a pair of speechless twins and watchers behind. He went to the Room of Requirement and spent most of the day there using his ninja skills in an every man for himself bar brawl. The magic that controlled that room recognized Harry's ninja skills and would make each new fight harder on him and Harry's fighting skills got better with each encounter in there. He was learning how to deal with sneak attacks, how to deal with different weapons, different styles of fighting, and greatly improved his battle magic as well. It was the one place where he could cut loose with everything he had and when the fights were done he'd be feeling better. Most of the time it worked, but not all of the time. He went back to going through his parent's trunks, doing Lily Potter's first. He located all of her journals, and what surprised him the most, was a stack of Led Zeppelin songbooks and her guitar. Harry held it in his hands for a time as he thought about the kind of music his Mom had made on it. He put it in one of the corners in his living room after playing a song on it. He picked up one of the Led Zeppelin songbooks and let it open to whatever song came up, and it had been 'Stairway to Heaven'. Harry played it in a slow style and it made him feel better once he was done with it. Harry hoped that this situation he was in now would eventually fade away. He just wanted to put it all behind him.

Things continued as they had been after the dueling club. Nobody said anything to Harry, not even the Weasley twins. Harry was sure that once this thing was solved everything would be okay once more. He was getting tired of the silent treatment and from people watching him constantly, Dumbledore being the chief offender. Harry decided to turn it around on Dumbledore one afternoon in late November. He stopped, turned around, marched up to Dumbledore, crossed his arms, and glared into Dumbledore's eyes. The old man had been surprised at first, but then soon realized what it was that Harry was doing. Dumbledore decided he could play that game too. So the both of them stared into each other's eyes as the students caught on to what was going on and settled in to watch. Neither one was giving in an inch. The longer the battle went on the more excited the students got. Eventually Dumbledore broke, turning away first much to Harry's pleasure nearly a half hour later. Harry didn't say anything as he felt words would cheapen the victory. Harry continued on his way to Herbology as he had missed Transfigurations. He was sure McGonagall would penalize him for missing her class. Just as Harry entered the garden area to get to one of the greenhouses, he felt a blast of killing intent at his back. He spun around just in time to see Ron Weasley come charging at him like a mad bull. Harry stepped aside at the last second and let Ron go by under full power. Ron skidded to a stop and charged once more, Harry stepping back and tripping Ron so that he face planted into a bit of mud. Ron came up dripping mud off his face and spluttering in anger. Harry kept his hands to his sides even though he was ready for more of Ron's attacks.

"I am going to stop you, Harry Potter. Hogwarts will thank me for taking down a dark lord wannabe," Ron declared, and from the mad glint in his eyes Harry knew he would do anything to make that happen.

"You don't have to do this, Ron. I'm not responsible for the attacks," Harry tried to reason with the angry red head.

"Too late, Potter. I'm gonna take you down!" Ron declared and charged.

Harry moved out of the way at the last second and Ron ran face first into a bush. The bush came to life and grabbed a protesting Ron and tossed him into the nearby fountain. Harry grinned at the sight of a soaking wet Ron Weasley. "You need to cool off, Weasley. You got what you deserved."

Harry headed off towards herbology. Sprout smiled as Harry walked up.

"Good. We are headed into greenhouse three today. We will be repotting the Mandrakes now that they have gotten a bit too big for their current pots," she said.

"We need to be careful of the Mandrakes as their cry could kill," Harry spoke up.

"Very good Mr. Potter. Take twenty points," she said brightly. "That's why we need to be wearing ear muffs."

Everybody exchanged robes for lab coats and got a pair of earmuffs before going into greenhouse three. They watched as Sprout demonstrated the proper repotting procedure before letting everybody go to work. Out of the twenty five people present, Neville seemed to know what he was really doing. Harry thought Neville seemed to be at home in the greenhouse as he did the job quickly and efficiently. Harry decided he would go looking in the Potter greenhouse to see if there was some rare plant he could send to Neville. He made a mental note to do so when he got home to the Potter Manor. He turned back to the lesson in progress and potted his Mandrake. He looked up at the sound of a commotion and saw Malfoy trying to shake off his Mandrake as the little tyke has clamped down on Malfoy's left hand with newly minted sharp teeth and wasn't letting go. Harry couldn't hear Malfoy too well over Pansy and a few of the other Slytherins. He was betting it would be some time before Malfoy got that hand back, if he even got it back at all. Malfoy stopped trying to shake it off and slammed it down face first into the worktable and grabbed the pot it had been in and began beating the hell out of it over Sprout's protests. The Mandrake did finally let go and wobbled it's way down the table where Neville scooped it up with an empty pot and loaded it up with fresh compost right up to the brim, covering the Mandrake completely and then watered it while whistling a jaunty tune. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Malfoy turned a deep red from anger and Harry saw him reach for his wand. Sprout caught Malfoy with his wand up.

"No, no, Mr. Malfoy, we don't need magic in here!" she called out.

Harry grinned as Malfoy was literally shaking in anger at being thwarted in his desire for revenge against Neville. Harry was beginning to believe the day might get better.

Dumbledore confronted Harry in the foyer once he got back to the castle. Harry observed a very wet and pissed off Ron Weasley behind the Dumbledork. Harry had a feeling this didn't bode well for him.

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore began as Harry stood there in front of him, "Mr. Weasley has informed me of the attack upon his person by you. This cannot be allowed."

"He attacked me first," Harry said.

"I saw my brother attack Potter," Fred said, coming forward to Harry's defense. "Harry didn't do anything other than step out of the way. It was a bush in the garden that tossed Ron into the fountain, not Harry."

"I'll testify to that," Lee Jordan announced.

Dumbledore had to concede defeat on this one. He turned to Ron.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention with me," he snarled at Ron and walked off.

Ron turned to Harry and before he could say anything Fred cracked his knuckles loudly and Ron immediately paled and rushed off. Fred turned to Harry as Lee Jordan left.

"We owe you an apology for our actions, Harry. There was no offense intended," Fred told him. "We do have your back."

Harry nodded. "Thanks guys. I appreciate that."

Fred then left for Gryffindor tower and Harry headed back to the Ravenclaw tower. He was feeling kind of tired and he simply wanted to get some sleep before dinner. He managed two hours before dinner and that seemed to perk him up a little. He planned on going back to bed with his mother's second journal and read for a bit. He was finding her journey through Hogwarts really fascinating, the things she was doing, and the things she was learning. Harry discovered a number of spells that she was learning looked interesting, as those particular spells weren't being taught in second year. He decided he would try them out in his spell arena the next morning when he went down into his trunk for his morning workout. He stretched out and felt things go pop and he stepped into his tabi boots and headed down to dinner after a quick stop in the bathroom.

Dinner was it's usual noisy affair. Harry sat down at the back end of the table and had dinner as he listened to the talk going on as he pretended not to hear what was being said, and the current subject was Ron and the headmaster. Harry knew that Ron would be looking for a fight and Harry really didn't have the time to deal with him. If he were pushed to he would fight Ron even though he considered Ron to be a waste of his time. Ron wasn't a fighter by any stretch of his warped imagination, but Harry considered him to be a threat. Harry glanced over at the Gryffindor table and was shocked by Ginny Weasley's appearance. The poor girl looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep of late. Harry frowned at that. The current word was that there was a hideous creature slinking round and killing all of the school's roosters. Harry turned that bit of information over in his mind. He wondered if it had anything to do with the voices he had been hearing. He decided he needed to look into that and wondered if Hermione had heard too.

"Yes I have Harry," Hermione said as they conversed in their corner of the library later that evening, looking serious. "I first learned of the dead roosters when I saw Hagrid with one. I know he didn't see me as I had stepped back into the shadows when I saw him taking one up to the headmaster's office. I've been searching for answers ever since. Harry, there is something bad going on here."

"I know. I've been working the problem, too. I get the feeling that it's going to get worse before the solution is found," Harry stated.

Hermione pulled out a spiral bound notebook and opened it. "I've been keeping track of everything that's been going on here, from the first discovery up to now. If there is a pattern, I'm missing it."

Hermione nodded. "I've put down the notebook for a few weeks in hopes that I could pick it up again and suddenly see what it is I'm missing here. No good."

Harry sighed. He had hoped that Hermione would pick up on something both of them had missed the first time out. Perhaps the upcoming Christmas Holidays would give them the break they needed. In the meantime both agreed to keep looking for clues.

The next rumor to start circulating was concerning Ron and Percy. Percy had discovered Ron snooping round the hall where the message had been found and both had a row about it, Percy accusing Ron of having something to do with the first attack. Ron had retaliated by accusing Percy of trying to kiss up to Dumbledore so he wouldn't get his chances at being Head Boy ruined. Both of them nearly came to blows over that. Dean Thomas had been with Ron and he dragged Ron off before it could even go further than that. Harry added that to his wall and stepped back examining all the information he had on the current situation. He suddenly wondered if Sprout had warded the greenhouse where the Mandrakes were kept to ensure they didn't come to harm. Last thing they needed was the Mandrakes in trouble. And then there was an attack. The next two victims was Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick, better known as Sir Nicholas, whose only claim to fame was his botched execution, as the executioner in his day had used a blunt ax and didn't cut clean through. As a result Sir Nicholas still had his head attached by a small flap of skin, earning the nickname 'Nearly Headless Nick'. McGonagall had been the one to find them before Harry and Hermione came up the stairs to find her standing there. Nick was just floating there, an odd expression on his face. Justin had frozen up, his skin taking on a strange pallor of grey. Harry mentally groaned at the sight, as he knew this would get around Hogwarts in moments. McGonagall had them taken up to the hospital wing. Dumbledore met them there and they watched, as Madame Pomfrey looked them over. She sighed as she shook her head.

"Just like the others," she said.

Harry couldn't help but feel that there would be more attacks before this thing was over. So far it had been the other houses except for Slytherin house and Harry was beginning to wonder why. Perhaps it was time to find out why. Harry decided he would stay over Christmas Holiday and start snooping around. He came up with a plan that involved the use of a potion called polyjuice. It changed the drinker into somebody else and kept them like that for at least an hour. Harry looked over the recipe and decided it would take too long. Glamors. Glamors were spells designed to make people think he was somebody else. Harry had never used a glamour before and he went back to his library to read up on it and see how they worked. Those would take work as well. Damn. Harry wondered if he could just keep to the shadows and listen to the talk going on. That was worth a try. He decided to make his moves during the Christmas Holidays. Harry had the feeling that there would be at least one more attack coming and he went to Flitwick about it.

"The headmaster seems to be convinced that you are behind it all, Mr. Potter," Flitwick said as he sat back in his chair, his arms crossed. "I am not convinced."

"I was with McGonagall and Hermione at the scene of the last attack," Harry said.

Flitwick sighed. "That's what they have told the headmaster."

"And he doesn't believe them," Harry growled.

Flitwick slammed his hand down on a book and Harry knew he was frustrated. "No he doesn't, Harry. Professor Snape isn't helping things either."

"I've got a pretty good idea of what he might be saying, too. Something along the lines of 'he's arrogant, just like his father' or something similar," Harry sighed.

Flitwick nodded. "And I've defended you to those two but they blow me off."

Harry closed his eyes as he sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "We need to solve this thing now, before anyone else gets hurt."

"Agreed, Mr. Potter. All of the staff is planning a lockdown of the castle over the Christmas Holiday and doing a complete search from the tallest tower all the way into the deepest dungeon in hopes we can find a clue as to who or what is causing the attacks," Flitwick informed Harry.

"Good luck sir," Harry said, meaning it.

That conversation had taken place on a Monday. Flitwick was found in his classroom on Thursday when he failed to show up for breakfast. Snape was the first to reach Harry and Harry found the man's wand in his face as Snape shouted at him. Hagrid came to the rescue and told Dumbledore that Harry wasn't responsible as Harry had been at breakfast. A couple of Ravenclaws backed Harry, saying that Harry had been under their surveillance for the past few days at Professor Flitwick's request. Dumbledore had to back down after that information was revealed. Snape and Dumbledore glared at Harry.

Before Harry could make a move, Peeves appeared out of nowhere.

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE CASTLE!" he bellowed. "THE WEASLEY KID IS DEAD!"

The crowd surrounding Harry freaked out as teachers and staffers appeared. Harry led the pack up the stairs and followed Peeves to the second floor and found Ron Weasley lying in a puddle of water. Filch was sitting in his chair by the wall and he looked like he was frozen as well. A theory began to form in the back of Harry's head as to how the attacks were happening. Dumbledore came puffing up to the scene. He looked up as he heard a mad cackling.

"Peeves, you must tell me what happened here," Dumbledore pleaded.

The poltergeist grinned. "Nope, nope, nopie, nopa, nada, not a chance, old boy!"

He cackled as he flew off. Harry leaned over Ron and felt for some kind of pulse and couldn't find one. His senses told him Weasley was still alive. He moved over to check on Filch and found the same thing. Dumbledore was right behind him, checking Ron first and then Filch.

"They have been petrified," he announced.

This was not good. Harry stood there and watched Ron Weasley and Argus Filch get taken to the hospital wing. Dumbledore stood there next to Harry and didn't say anything to Harry. After a moment he walked off, heading to the hospital wing. Harry wondered just what was going to happen next, and then he wished he hadn't asked.

Two mornings later Snape didn't show for breakfast as he usually did. The first clue that something was wrong with Snape when Pansy Parkinson showed up in the great hall with terror in her face. She ran up to the head table. The great hall fell silent as Dumbledore immediately left the table and headed down to the dungeons. By noon the word was all over the castle. Snape had been attacked. Harry thought that could never happen, as Snape was known to cover himself in all kinds of protective wards. Snape wasn't paranoid but he did have a few enemies out there being a former death eater and they wanted his ass. So now Slytherin had fallen victim to the attacker, which meant that nobody was safe anymore. Harry added Snape to the list of victims. This was going too far and getting very out of control. By now everybody was moving round the castle in large groups, something that Harry approved of tactical wise. It meant that the attacker would have to engage the group instead of one person. However, there were a few individuals who thought they were untouchable like Draco Malfoy. He was found later in the day in the third floor boy's bathroom. Harry had gone up the stairs to the bathroom and discovered lots of water coming out from underneath the door. Before he could do anything Dumbledore was right there.

"Mr. Potter," he started as Harry moved to the door drawing his wand.

Dumbledore decided that Harry had the right idea and pulled his wand and joined Harry at the door. Harry slowly pushed open the door and blinked at the mess inside the room. The place had been trashed completely. Water was coming out of the pipes and shooting out into the center of the room.

"Something happened here," Dumbledore said.

"This is a first," Harry stated. "Trashing a room."

Harry looked round the place and then saw something unusual. He went over to it and got down to check it out and discovered a human hand. He began to throw things aside to reveal and arm and with it a green Slytherin robe.

"Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"There's a boy underneath all of this junk," Harry informed him.

Dumbledore moved closer when Harry uncovered the head to reveal the terror stricken face of Draco Malfoy. Dumbledore paled at the sight of Draco Malfoy. He moved forward and waved his wand over Draco and then exhaled in relief.

"He's petrified," Harry guessed.

Dumbledore nodded as Harry cast the levitation spell. He floated Draco out of the bathroom and headed up the stairs with him heading for the hospital wing. The word must have gotten out because a crowd of Slytherins came running. Pansy took one look at Draco and then started wailing.

"Oh! My poor Drakie!" she cried, and continued to carry on all the way up to the hospital, where Harry laid him on a bed and went to get Madame Pomfrey.

He left once he told Pomfrey what had happened. Pansy stayed by Draco. Harry sat on one of the stairs that moved between the third and fourth floors to think about things. It seemed to him that nearly all of the victims had been around water when petrified with the exception of a few people. Colin Creevey had his camera. Justin had been looking through Nearly Headless Nick. Snape had a dark colored beaker in front of him. He looked up as the stairs stopped once more at the third floor to find Dumbledore looking at him intently. Harry stood up and walked up to him.

"I have a theory," Harry said simply.

The both of them went round the corner to sit in a pair of chairs in the hallway. Harry spoke his mind about everything that was going on and Dumbledore nodded.

"That's good, Harry. Something I can use. I must tell you that everybody is going home for the holidays. I must find you a place," Dumbledore said.

"I've been invited to stay with the Grangers," Harry informed him.

"I see that you were successful in finding companionship. Having friends is important," the old headmaster said.

"Very important," Harry agreed. "A man can't get through life without a few good friends."

Harry had decided to leave the search to the adults as a team of Aurors and other people were coming here to search every inch of the place. He needed time away from here and going to the Grangers was exactly what he needed.

"I am going to try to boost morale here by having a little Christmas party for Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Hopefully it will take people's minds off things for a time. We need a bit of festive spirit."

Dumbledore did try. People spent most of the time huddled in small groups. Harry had been to parties that had more life to it than this one. Harry slipped away and went walkabout through the halls of Hogwarts under the watchful gaze of the paintings. He really didn't feel like going to a party when there was so much trouble going on. Lucius Malfoy had come a calling almost immediately once the news of Draco got out, something that Harry was sure that Dumbledore didn't want made public, had become public. Fudge had immediately announced the search of the castle over the holidays in an effort to pacify the public. Harry hoped that would work.

Dumbledore decided to keep Quidditch going in an effort to turn everybody's focus to something else, and that actually worked. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor match was a good match, and Harry did relax a bit. It turned into a great game and Harry was sure everyone would be talking about it for a time. Since there was a few hours left of daylight, Dumbledore announced a surprise Hogsmeade visit open to all. Normally only third years and up could go, but Dumbledore decided to bend the rules just this once. Harry asked Hermione to go with him and to his immense surprise, she said yes. They had walked down to Hogsmeade together to explore the village. Naturally Hermione had to check out the bookstore there much to Harry's amusement. He slipped a catalog or two into her book bag before she left the shop. They stopped at the ice rink that had been set up in the center of town and watched people out on the ice. The figure skaters fascinated Hermione and the ones that were there showed off their skills as they moved to music. In front of the music store there were a few kids demonstrating some new dance thing called break dancing and it looked to be a lot of fun. They ended the afternoon having tea in a tiny shop, enjoying the hot drink and warming up their insides for the walk back to the castle. It had been one of the better days Hogwarts had in some time.

Harry continued to count down the days to Christmas Break. He was slipping out of Ravenclaw Tower late nights going on a search of his own. He used the search as a way to exercise his stealth skills and using his enhanced senses through Getsumi no Michi, his ninja discipline, to guide his path as he moved through the darkened halls of the school. Harry never did find anything of significance but at least now he knew his way round Hogwarts a lot better than he ever did before. And then time had run out. It was time to leave on the Christmas Break. Harry hoped that the searchers would find and fix the problem before they came back. Getting on the Hogwarts Express everyone seemed to breathe a sigh in relief.

"I feel a bit safer being here," Neville stated as the train pulled out of Hogsmeade station. "Going to be nice to get home for a bit."

Harry nodded. "Good. I read somewhere that the first Hogwarts train had a Salamander providing the power for the engine."

"I saw that, too. The current engine is the third one, the last one having been retired twenty years ago," Hermione said, and the conversation went from there.

It proved to be a good distraction and before they knew it they were arriving in King's Cross station. Harry helped Hermione down and then Luna.

"Enjoy your holiday!" Luna called out as she left through the floo.

Harry turned to Neville as his grandmother walked up. He shook hands with him.

"Happy Christmas Neville," Harry said.

Neville turned to his grandmother and both of them left through the floo station there. Harry turned to their trunks and got them on a trolley and they went through the barrier to find the Grangers waiting for them.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione called out as she approached them.

Her parents beamed as they hugged her. Emma turned to Harry and smiled at him.

"Your turn Harry," she said as she stepped forward.

Now Harry was convinced that they had accepted him.

Harry liked their house the moment he arrived there. It seemed to be so warm and inviting. He felt very at ease around them. He liked the feeling he was getting from the house. There was love spoken in here, just like it was spoken at his house in Japan. He suddenly wondered if it was meant for Hermione and him to be together. It was too soon to tell and he decided to give it time. He wasn't in a hurry and he was sure that Dan and Kotake would tell him that. Besides his Japanese family needed to meet the Grangers first and they had planned on doing that. It had been decided that Harry would spend Christmas Morning with the Grangers as Hiroshi and Kotake had a function that they needed to be at Christmas Morning and Harry would escort Hermione to meet them for Christmas Dinner. The big meet would go down on New Year's Day as there would be a big celebration in the Asian Quarter in London and Harry was looking forward to that. The Grangers seemed to like having him around and they made him feel as if he was a part of their family. Going shopping in London had been a fun experience and Harry got what he thought the Grangers would like. For Hermione he got her something special and made sure to get something for Neville and Luna. It was during the shopping trip that Harry met up with a DE, and the guy had been bold as brass, walking up to Harry in the boys dressing room inside Harrod's. Harry wondered how they were finding him.

"Hello Harry Potter, my name's Zeke, and I am going to kill you for doing in my master," he smiled a very nasty smile as the guy pulled a pair of trench knives with brass knuckles attached.

Harry smiled. "No you're not."

And the fight had started. This time Harry knew he had to take this guy out and fast. He ducked the first swing and firmly planted his left hand into the guy's ribs as hard as he could, knocking Zeke back a few steps and then followed up with a kick to the man's head with his right foot, making him stumble back a few feet. That gave Harry the chance he needed to dart into the back room, hoping there wouldn't be anybody back there to get in his way and to get the room he needed to take down the bastard. Zeke followed Harry back there like he hoped and the fight continued.

Harry reached behind him and conjured a pair of fighting tanto knives and slid into the fist stance as he slid into Getsumi no Michi and waited for Zeke to charge, which the DE did. Their knives clicked as they began fighting each other. Harry knew that in knife fights there would be injuries to both in the form of scratches, minor, and major cuts. Zeke was able to inflict scratches and minor cuts to Harry's hands and arms as Harry inflicted major cuts to Zeke's hands and arms as they fought. Harry was glad he had learned kickboxing, as he was able to use his kicks effectively against Zeke. Harry paced himself, not wanting to tire himself out too soon. Zeke was discovering that he had to work very hard to keep himself from getting hurt from the kid. He had to admit that Harry was good, maybe even better than him, but he wasn't letting some punk kid kick his ass. As they were attacking each other and defending from each other's attacks, Harry glanced around the warehouse and saw what he needed, the perfect place to hide the body once he was done with Zeke. He started pushing the man harder and Zeke started making mistakes in his defense and Harry started cutting him deeper each time he got an opening. The DE was starting to panic as he sensed his end was coming a lot sooner than he wanted it to be. Harry kept pushing him in the direction he wanted the man to go in and then Zeke made his mistake, tried to cut Harry deep and wide, and missed. Harry took the advantage to strike fast and hard, stabbing deep into Zeke's right arm and pulling on the knife from the mid forearm nearly into the wrist area, pushing the knife deep as he did so. Zeke whimpered as he dropped the trench knife from his now useless right arm and he knew the kid had beaten him. He tried to run but Harry kept him from trying to escape. Harry brought the handle of his knife down on Zeke's head, knocking him out for the win. Harry grabbed his ankles and pulled him over to the open crate nearby and stuffing him into it and sealing it up tight. With luck they wouldn't find him for a couple of days, or at least until they were in another country to find Zeke in there. Harry quickly policed the area and the only bits of blood he needed to clean up was where he had cut open Zeke's arm. He used the cleaning spell evanesco to vanish away all the blood making the cement floor clean. Harry dashed into the nearby bathroom used for customers to make sure he was okay and used Episkey to heal up his minor cuts and to make sure he didn't have any blood on him. Then he left the bathroom and headed out into the mall, as the store he had been in didn't have what he was looking for. The next store had what he was looking for.

Hermione was delighted with the earrings that Harry gave her on Christmas Morning. Dan got a book on golfing jokes, and Emma got a little bottle of perfume. Dan presented Harry with a personal grooming kit, Emma gave Harry a couple of nice polo shirts, and Hermione gave Harry a study planner. Harry relaxed and watched Hermione get a few things from her parents that gave him ideas for her thirteenth birthday and tucked the ideas away into his filing cabinet. Christmas morning breakfast was a fun affair and Harry enjoyed himself. The limo from the Japanese Embassy arrived right on time in the mid afternoon and Hermione looked radiant in her new dress. Harry went in his new suit and Hermione was well received by Shizune and Kotake, as well as the rest of the clan. There was another exchange of gifts and then Christmas Dinner. Shizune showed Hermione what Harry had looked like as a little boy much to Harry's embarrassment, and Hermione thought he looked cute as a little boy. Harry used the copy spell to give Hermione copies of the pictures she liked the best. While Miyoshi kept Hermione busy, the Clan held a quick meeting to discuss what was going on, and at the moment there really wasn't much going on other than the DE's trying to stay hidden. Harry informed them of the one he had terminated earlier in the week and Hiroshi nodded his approval at Harry's actions. Harry reported on what had been going on at Hogwarts and Hiroshi had a serious look on his face. At the close of the evening Harry and Hermione were returned to the Granger's.

In the week before New Year's Harry and Hermione went out and did the things that most kids their age would do and had a good time doing it. Harry kept getting the feeling that it was, literally, the calm before the storm. He sat back on New Year's Eve with a cup of tea to examine the case from every possible angle. It had started with him hearing the voice coming from inside the walls, and it sounded like it was hissing, and it had gone from there. People petrified, Draco throwing the snake at him in a duel, Miss Norris getting petrified, roosters turning up dead, messages written on walls in blood, Ginny Weasley looking like the walking dead, Ron Weasley wanting to kill him, Mandrakes, and to top it all off was Dumbledork proclaiming him to be going dark. It was enough to drive him nuts, and if that wasn't bad enough, Harry had the feeling that the worst was yet to come. He looked up as Hermione joined him in the living room. He put the problem away back into the drawer of his filing cabinet he kept in his mind, closed it, and locked it. Right now wasn't the time to be dealing with it.

"Ready to go party?" Harry asked her with a smile.

Hermione smiled back. "I am. Curious question, do you know how to dance?"

"Sure do. Mom taught me before I left Japan to come here," Harry replied.

"Good, because I like to dance," Hermione informed Harry.

"Well cool," Harry grinned.

Emma and Dan came down the stairs from their bedroom. "Are you kids ready?"

"Yes Mum," Hermione replied.

Dan grinned as he wiggled his eyebrows. "Then let's go party!"

To Be Continued


	6. The Forbidden Forest Again

Ninja Wizard CoS 06

By David

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling has that honor.

Notes: these marks [] indicate Japanese spoken

Ninja Wizard CoS 06

'The Forbidden Forest… Again'

Hermione found Harry in the kitchen brewing a big pot of tea New Year's Day morning. Harry smiled when he heard her coming.

"Good morning Hermione, and Happy New Year to you," Harry said.

"The tea smells divine," Hermione said.

Harry turned to her with a cup and offered it to her. She took it from him and sipped at it.

"This is good," she said, as Emma was the next to appear.

"Do I smell tea brewing?" she asked.

Harry turned to her with a cup in hand as Hermione smiled.

"Yes Mum, Harry just brewed some tea for all of us," she said.

Emma took the cup and sipped at it and smiled. "This is good tea, Harry."

Dan was the last to enter the kitchen. He looked relaxed in a shirt, slacks, and slippers. Harry handed him a cup and he liked it as well. Harry moved to the refrigerator and began looking into it and pulling things out of it as he did.

"Do you cook, Harry?" Emma asked in surprise.

Harry smiled. "Sure. Mom taught me how, and it's something I truly enjoy doing. Give me a few minutes and I'll have breakfast on the table."

Emma and Dan left the kitchen while Hermione took a seat at the kitchen table to watch Harry. Harry moved round the kitchen like a pro and at some point Hermione went up to her room to dress for the day. She came back down to find Harry using magic to set the table and it looked like he was having fun doing it. Emma and Dad were watching everything take their proper place after being made to dance down the center of the table. Hermione watched in amusement as the last of the plates settled down.

"That was awesome Harry!" she exclaimed.

Harry grinned. "Thanks Hermione."

Then the platters of food floated out to the table as Harry made sure the stove was shut down before joining them at the table. They had a pleasant breakfast talking about all kinds of things. Harry truly felt comfortable here, he felt accepted by the Grangers. He hoped that this could be the start of something good in his life. He needed more good things in his life, and his Japanese family definitely was one of those good things that had happened to him. He never wanted any of this to end.

They relaxed for most of the day, Dan and Harry watching the footy games as Hermione and Emma watching some old black and white romance films together. Naturally there was a lot of banter going on and they were enjoying it all. They went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant and enjoying prime rib and everything that went with it. Harry sat on his bed packing his trunk later in the evening to go back to Hogwarts. Hermione came into the guest room and sat down with him.

"So we're going back," she said.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, we are. I'm hoping that the teachers have found the beastie by now that's doing all this. I'm not entirely convinced it's a student or a teacher that's doing all of this."

Hermione agreed. "Something's doing it."

"And to think that all of this started when I heard voices the first night back," Harry said. "I was nearly convinced I was going spare."

Hermione frowned at that. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Yeah, I didn't say anything because I didn't want people to think I was going spare," Harry nodded.

Hermione tapped her chin for a few minutes. "I need to think about this for a bit."

Harry nodded. "Hermione, promise me you will be careful, okay?"

Hermione leaned against Harry. "I will be careful, Harry."

Harry nodded. "Thanks Hermione."

That was the moment that Harry began to develop feelings for Hermione. He lay there in bed for the longest time trying to sort out his feelings for her. Was she a friend, or was she becoming more than just a friend to him? Twelve was a bit too soon to start a romance with a girl, he reasoned. Fourteen or fifteen yes, but not twelve. Harry decided he would work on being a good friend to her, and that meant sooner or later she would have to know his secret. Okay, he decided, we get through the rest of the year first and then we take it from there. Feeling better about the decision Harry rolled over on his side and went to sleep.

King's Cross was busy as usual. Harry paused for a moment before collecting a trolley for their trunks to admire the way the station looked. He took the trolley out to the Granger's car and got Hermione's trunk on it first and then his. They headed inside to the barrier where platform nine and three quarters was and the Grangers stepped through first, then Hermione, with Harry bringing up the rear with the trolley. The platform was crowded with people, parents and families seeing off the Hogwarts students. Nobody seemed to notice Harry and he liked that. He truly hated the moniker the Boy-Who-Lived and the crap that went with it. Harry suddenly felt the need to visit the bathroom.

"Be right back Hermione," he told her and dashed off to the bathroom.

He was in the process of taking care of business when he suddenly felt killing intent directed at him. He zipped up just as it attacked. He spun around narrowly missing the knife directed at him.

"Our Lord will be avenged, Potter!" the man snarled at him.

He was wearing the robes of an Auror who guarded the platform. Harry ran his elbow into the man's gut hard and used the opportunity to look for the Dark Mark and found it on the right forearm. The man pushed back and forced Harry back into the wall. Harry knew he couldn't afford a long fight so he waited for the man to rush in and he did. Harry rolled off once more and then kneed him in the balls, making the man double over. Harry grabbed the man in a headlock and then with a sharp twisting motion, broke the man's neck completely. The knife dropped to the floor. Harry had to move fast. He dragged the body into the nearby stall, dropped him on the toilet, rolled up the sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark, and kicked the knife under the man's right boot and closed the door. Using his thumbnail, he secured the lock and then wiped the door clean of his fingerprints. He strolled to the sink and washed his hands before leaving. He sprinted out of the bathroom back to where he left the Grangers and Hermione.

"Oh there you are!" Hermione exclaimed. "I thought you had gotten on the train from another door!"

Harry smiled. "Not without my best friend."

The whistle blew right then and goodbyes were said. Harry helped Hermione on the train and they found a compartment to sit in. The train pulled out of the station and they were headed back to Hogwarts. Neville and Luna joined them for the trip back.

The castle felt wrong to Harry the moment he stepped inside. He had the feeling the teachers and staff didn't find anything. That meant there would be more trouble coming. That meant Harry needed to solve this thing before someone died. There was no word from Dumbledore at the feast about anything and that convinced Harry even more that they hadn't found anything.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered to him as they moved into the foyer after dinner.

Harry turned to her. "What?"

"The castle feels wrong," she said.

Harry suddenly wondered if Hermione was one of those who could feel things.

"I know. I can feel it too. We need to be really careful," he said.

Neville and Luna joined Harry and Hermione at the Ravenclaw table for the feast and were talking as they ate. Harry quietly speculated at what was to happen next and he had the feeling that he was to find out very soon. The fist two weeks back were quiet ones as people moved around the castle in groups. Harry kept alert as he usually did for any kind of wrong feeling in the castle, and so far nothing had happened. The next Quidditch game that was scheduled was for end of January between Hufflepuff and Slytherin. It was during that game that Harry had the sudden feeling that something had happened. He started looking around but didn't see anything unusual. He turned to look at the castle and had the feeling it was in there that something had happened. He found out later after the game. A pair of second year Slytherins had gotten petrified while attempting to access Gryffindor Tower to set up a prank. The peace and quiet had been disrupted once more, and now there would be serious trouble coming.

It was Hermione that brought news to Harry that she discovered in a book in the library regarding the Chamber of Secrets as the legend was called, and it regarded Hagrid, as he had been a student fifty years ago.

"All it would say that Hagrid was expelled, his wand snapped, and the creature responsible for the girl's death was killed by Tom Riddle," Hermione said, showing Harry the relevant passage in the book. Harry nodded as he read it.

"Doesn't say anything more than that," Harry said. "Perhaps I should go see Hagrid about it."

"Be careful Harry," Hermione said.

Harry smiled at her. "I will."

Harry got his chance to go and visit Hagrid a week into February. It was still winter and the snow crunched under his boots as Harry walked down to Hagrid's place at the end of the school day. Hagrid threw open his door and met Harry with a loaded crossbow. Harry smiled at Hagrid. "Nope, I'm not selling any vacuum cleaners today."

Hagrid looked at Harry with a puzzled look on his face. "What's a vacuum cleaner?"

"It's a muggle invention that cleans your floor," Harry explained.

"Oh. Well come on in. Too cold out there," Hagrid said.

Harry sat at Hagrid's table sipping tea out of an oversized teacup. It was the right size for Hagrid, but not for Harry. He had to use two hands to lift it.

"So, what brings you out here, Harry?" Hagrid asked jovially.

Harry sighed. He hated to do this to Hagrid, as Hagrid was a nice enough fellow, never mind the fact that he liked rather dangerous and interesting creatures.

"Hagrid, I came across something rather interesting and I wanted to ask you about it," Harry began. "It concerns you here at Hogwarts about fifty years ago."

From the expression on Hagrid's face Harry knew that Hagrid had caught on to what Harry was asking. He slowly lowered his cup and sat back, his face taking on a different look as his eyes took on a far away look. Before he could answer Harry, there was a loud banging on the front door. Hagrid turned to the front door and Harry used that opportunity to 'disappear', sliding under Hagrid's bed while vanishing the large teacup from the table.

"What…" he heard Hagrid say before there was another loud banging on the front door and Hagrid turned to the door.

Harry saw Dumbledore and the senior Malfoy enter the hut. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be a good thing.

"Hagrid," he heard Malfoy speak up.

"What you want, Malfoy?" Hagrid snarled.

Clearly there wasn't any love between those two.

"You are to come with me, Hagrid," Lucius demanded.

"Why?" Hagrid thundered, making Malfoy step back.

"Because of what's going on, Hagrid. All of it a bad business," Malfoy said. "We have to be seen doing something."

"Fucking politicians!" Harry whispered to himself.

"And that reminds me," Malfoy said, reaching into his elegant robes and producing a scroll. "The governors have seen fit to order your suspension, Dumbledore. I am to take your place and make every attempt to solve this thing."

Harry felt the blood drain out of his face at that.

"NO!" Hagrid thundered as Malfoy took another steps back.

"Hagrid," came the very calm voice of Dumbledore.

Harry had to give some measure of respect to Dumbledore as the man project calm at the face of terrible news. With Malfoy in charge Snape would be getting his way in everything and that simply would never do. Unfortunately Snape was on vacation…

"I will bow to this, Lucius. But then I will have truly left this school when every last person truly loyal to me has left as well. Come Hagrid, let us be on our way."

Harry heard the surrender in Hagrid's voice. "All right, professor. I need to get me boots on. Be right with you."

Dumbledore turned and walked out, followed by Lucius. Hagrid bent down for his boots and looked Harry in the eyes.

"Follow the spiders, Harry, if you want to find out stuff," Hagrid whispered, and then sat on his bed to pull on his boots.

He blew out the candlelight before leaving. Harry remained under the bed for a few minutes as he felt the three men moving off. He dragged himself out from under the bed and drew himself a cup of tea and drank it down, never mind that it was cold. Harry sat there for a moment thinking about what had just happened. A memory floated up from someplace in his mind. It was a memory of him seeing a line of spiders marching out of the castle through a small hole in a windowsill in a corridor. Something in the castle had scared the spiders and they were leaving in droves. Why? Harry had simply moved the memory into his filing cabinet for later thought. Harry nodded to himself. Okay, now he needed to find a line of spiders and follow them to the end. He stood and called up his ninja suit and it appeared around him, his ninja-to secured to his back. He nodded and slipped out the back door of Hagrid's hut. It was time to get to work.

He stepped off the stone stairs at the back door and moved to the left. He waited the three men walking up the trail to the castle in the distance. Harry extended his senses now that he was fully in Getsumi no Michi to look for the trail of spiders and immediately found them. Marching into the Forbidden forest. Oh joy. That meant he was going to be dealing with whatever would be in there wanting to try and eat him if they found him. Not what he had in mind, but there you go. Sometimes you must deal with unpleasant things to get to the goal. Unfortunately Harry didn't know what the goal was so he had to follow the spiders and hope he made it to wherever it was he was supposed to go. He stood there watching them for a few minutes and then started follow them. He passed the garden Hagrid had and then the paddock where Hagrid kept the various creatures for Professor Kettleburn to show to the classes the man conducted. He paused at the point in the path that entered the forbidden forest between a pair of trees. The spiders were definitely entering the forbidden forest here. Harry started forward following the spiders. Harry listened to the night sounds around him as he walked along the path and so far nothing had happened. Yet. The path abruptly ended after two miles and now Harry had to deal with all kinds of things in his path. He was glad for the obstacle training he had gone through back home when he was training to be a ninja, and the instructors had been very creative when it came to the obstacle courses, from forest settings to office building scenarios. Harry began hopping up and over the various tree branches and rocks as he continued to follow the spiders. They certainly had no trouble getting over, under, and through everything in their path. Harry followed them the best he could, using his ninja skill to travel through the woods. He was beginning to think he would make it when something stepped into his path. Harry ducked under it and spun to face it. Whatever it was lunged out at him and Harry leaped straight up to avoid the strike from the creature's limb. The creature snarled in anger and jumped up after Harry. Harry began leaping from branch to branch in an effort to avoid the creature. Harry managed to get glimpses of it as it chased him. It looked like some kind of deranged monkey. Harry slid on a branch in a controlled fashion as he reached for his bow and pulled it from the pouch on his back. He had discovered it in Diagon Alley and decided it would make a perfect carrier for his bow and arrows, and other various gear he needed. He drew out an arrow that had a specially designed arrowhead that was a flash bang explosive. He turned towards the creature as he continued to slide along the branch and brought up the bow having put the arrow in the string and pulled it back and waited to fire, and he did when his target appeared next to the creature. He let go of the arrow and then turned around and leaped off the branch. The explosive went off with a roar, turning the dark of the forbidden forest into daylight for a few seconds and Harry heard the creature scream out in pain. Harry landed on the branch in front of him and went off in another direction. He zigged zagged through the trees for a few minutes and then dropped down to the ground to find the trail of the spiders beneath him. He watched them for a few minutes and knew they were still on the march.

Harry reached behind him and drew a bottle of water out of his pouch and took a drink. Putting it back he started to follow the spiders once more. He traveled deeper into the forest hoping that he would get to where he was supposed to soon. Harry wondered just how Hagrid was able to travel through the forest without getting pounced on and attacked. He decided it was because Hagrid must have had a way with the creatures in here. A sudden thought made Harry screech to a halt. What if Hagrid was a Beastmaster a person who could talk to all kinds of creatures? Harry tucked that thought away in his filing cabinet to examine at a later time. Harry continued on, following the trail of spiders, and some of them were starting to look fairly large. That made him wonder if he was getting close to where they were going. A snake suddenly lunged out at him and Harry ducked to avoid the strike and kept on going. Another clue to where and how close he was. Harry slowed down some and leaped from the tree branch back to solid ground as the spiders were going down it now. Suddenly a pair of imps leaped out of the darkness right at Harry. Harry's mind quickly flashed back to what he had read about them. According to the book they were considered to be deadly creatures and to not be taken lightly. Their claws were razor sharp and could slice him up in seconds. Harry reacted by drawing ninja-to and engaging them. He kept on moving around as he avoided their claws and blocked their strikes with his sword. Harry moved around them forcing them to move with him. Harry struck at what he though was the right moment and struck out at one of them, the tip of his sword sliding through the throat of one of them. That imp stumbled back, grabbing at its throat as blood spurted from it. Something came striking out and Harry got a glimpse of a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth sucking in the imp and disappearing. The second imp reacted, racing over to where the first one had disappeared. Harry kicked it in the ass, knocking him off the branch and going splat on the huge rock below the tree. A bunch of the spiders leapt on the body. Harry turned away from the sight.

He moved forward using a few more tree branches to do so and then went back to the ground. The spiders kept going and then between a pair of trees, disappearing into the dark. Harry followed them and suddenly discovered himself inside some kind of cave lit up brightly by glowing crystals. Harry turned to see a huge spider web in front of it, and on top of the spider web was the biggest spider he'd ever seen. Weasley would freak if he ever saw it, knowing of Ron's phobia of spiders.

"Aragog," the strange voice of a spider spoke up, "there be a human here!"

The huge spider turned its head and regarded Harry for a moment. Harry bowed from his waist, keeping his eyes on the spider.

"Sir, I am Harry Potter, Hagrid's friend. I come here seeking answers," Harry said as the spider shifted his position.

"Ah, such good manner for one so young," the old spider rumbled. "Do they teach you that at the school?"

So Aragog knew of Hogwarts. Now Harry knew which direction he could go in. "No sir. My father taught me to respect all life when I was younger."

"Good for him," Aragog said. "Now then, why are you here?"

"Hagrid is in trouble, sir. There is something up at the school petrifying everybody and they are blaming him for it. I read someplace that there was something called the Chamber of Secrets that got opened fifty years ago and that a girl died in a bathroom and that Hagrid was expelled and his wand snapped for it," Harry said. "A Tom Riddle supposedly killed the creature responsible."

The old spider moved his body around as the other spiders watching clicked their annoyance to Harry's news.

"And you came here to seek the truth," Aragog said. "Very brave of you. I did not kill the girl in the bathroom. There was a much greater evil creature in the school. We spiders do not dare to speak its name. Hagrid found me when I was a youngling. He sheltered me gave me food, gave me my name, and helped me find a wife. I owe Hagrid my life. It is why he is able to walk through the forest unmolested. It is why he is the only one allowed in here to speak with me."

Harry smiled. "Hagrid is indeed a true friend."

"He is indeed. I have not been back to the castle all of these years, nor do I wish to. I am happiest here among my family," Aragog said.

Harry sighed. "So it has to be something else that's doing all of this."

"It is not any of us," Aragog said.

"Thank you sir," Harry said, bowing once more. "I do apologize for coming here uninvited and unannounced. Please forgive the intrusion."

Aragog seemed to smile. "No apology is needed, not since such fresh meat enters my domain to feed my children."

Harry simply shrugged his shoulders as he turned around, turning his back to Aragog, tossing the small flash bomb up into the web. "Sorry, I can't stay for dinner."

The flash bomb went off with a roar, knocking the spiders back as the million candlelight power lit up the cave, blinding them all except for Harry. He had closed his eyes at the last second expecting the flash. He used his senses to guide him to the opening and darted through it as the spiders began screaming for his blood. Harry made it out into the forest and then took to the trees once more with a horde of the spiders behind him, the ones outside having been alerted by the ones inside of the cave. Harry didn't waste time getting out of there, dropping another flash bomb as he darted around the trunk of a tree and hearing it going off. The light from that one instantly lit up everything in the immediate area, revealing to Harry the massive horde of spiders moving in. That was not a good thing. Harry sprang up higher and really started running through the trees, trying to put as many of those spiders behind him as he could. The bigger ones couldn't maneuver through the trees as well as the smaller ones so Harry was able to leave them far behind. The smaller ones were the problem. Harry could feel them behind him and he needed a way to get them off his tail. That opportunity popped up as Harry came up on a clearing. He saw a tree on the other side of the clearance with a group of boulders leading up to it. He leaped out for the first one and landed on it and used it as a stepping stone to the next one until he had crossed the clearing and was back into the safety of the trees. If the spiders wanted him they would have to race through the trees one either side of the clearance or find a way across like Harry had done. Harry knew they had stopped chasing him the moment he left the trees and crossed the stones and entered the trees on the other side. Harry felt relieved. He kept going for a time and then stopped to check his watch and compass, and to get some water. It was late, coming up on two in the morning. He was going in the right direction, knowing the castle lay due east. He drank the last of his water and decided he was going to carry more water on his missions from now on. He stretched out, popping things in his back and moved out. He wanted to get into a hot bath and recover from tonight's events.

Harry sighed as he slid into a hot tub in his private bath down in his trunk. Harry added the information he had gotten from Aragog to his wall before heading to his bath. He closed his eyes and replayed the entire memory from start to finish. There was something off here and he needed to find it. It had been in Hagrid's cabin, during the confrontation with Lucius Malfoy. It seemed to Harry the man had seemed happy about getting Dumbledore out of the castle and Hagrid off the grounds. Harry wondered if it was part of some scheme the senior Malfoy had cooked up. Was Draco part of that scheme? Did the senior Malfoy mean for Draco to be a victim? If so, why? To grab control of Hogwarts? But that would mean bring in DE's as teachers. Was Dumbledore truly out of the picture? No, he was still in charge of the Wizengamot and the ICW. Aragog called it a creature that couldn't be named. What the hell was it? He needed to spend time in the library now. He definitely needed to get Hermione involved in this. If anyone could find out anything it was Hermione. Harry sighed and put everything away into the filing cabinet for now. He needed to relax a bit.

"Oh hey, Harry," Davies greeted him when he showed up in the common room a bit after ten.

It was a Sunday and Harry liked to sleep in on Sundays.

"Hi Roger, what's the good word?" Harry asked.

"Bad shit, Harry. Hagrid and Dumbledore got escorted off Hogwarts grounds late last night," he said taking a seat at a table.

Harry went for tea at the sideboard and came back with his cup and one for Roger. Roger glanced in both directions and pulled a little flask out of his sleeve and added two fingers of something that smelled like whiskey to each cup. Then the flask disappeared. Harry picked up his cup and tasted it. Roger sipped at his and then set it down.

"The friggin' ministry is all over the place. Word has it the headmaster's office locked up tight. McGonagall is in charge for the time being. If I were you go low profile for a time. Everything's been cancelled until further notice. We have Aurors escorting us to classes now," Roger informed Harry.

Kuso! That would make it hard for Harry to operate but he would find a way to. He nodded to Roger and sighed as he finished his cup.

"So what now?" Harry asked.

Roger sighed. "We keep on keeping on, Potter. No two ways about it."

He left the table and headed up into the dorms. Harry cleared away the cups and went back to the sideboard where food appeared. Harry made himself a sandwich and took it to the table he had been at and ate. He went to the fireplace in the common room and sat there for a time. He sighed and went back to his trunk. He got in a hard workout and then started reading the second journal from his dad. It talked a lot about Hogwarts, his friends Sirius, Remus, and Peter. The pranks he pulled on the Slytherins and especially Snape. Harry frowned at some of them, as they seemed to be the kind of pranks one would use to bully others. Was his dad a bully? Harry hoped not. There was no honor in being a bully. Harry had learned that lesson back in the village when a boy there had been a nasty bully to the other kids and gotten punished for it. Harry sighed once more and put the book down. He was feeling worn out from all of this and wished the current situation was over. He put the book back on the shelf and went out of his trunk. He joined the other Ravenclaws for dinner. There wasn't much conversation going on in the great hall as everybody didn't seem to be particularly happy about things and Harry didn't blame them. At least McGonagall was in charge for the time being. It meant that she would be able to try and solve this thing but Harry had the bad feeling that it would get worse before it was really over. Harry worked the situation over in his mind with what information he had so far. A creature that petrifies people. What if the person was looking directly at the creature? Would looking into its eyes kill? Harry sat up as the answer hit him. Yes it would. The only reason people were getting petrified was because they were either looking at it through objects, or saw its reflection in water or something shiny. Instead of getting killed, the unlucky person would get petrified. Harry looked up when Hermione joined him. Harry looked up and smiled.

"Hermione, I think I've figured out something," Harry said, and then told her what he had managed to figure out.

True to form Hermione whipped out paper and a pen to write down what Harry had said. Then she dashed off to the library with an Auror chasing her as people laughed. Harry had to smile as he turned back to his dinner. Can't stop Hermione when she was on a mission to find the truth.

Harry didn't see Hermione for the next few days, as he was busy with classes. When he wasn't in class he was in the common room reading more of his parent's journals, alternating between his Dad's and his Mom's. Each one had quite the story to tell and it was obvious from his Dad's that he was completely smitten by his Mum. When he wasn't chasing Lily he was planning pranks of all kinds to carry out. One particular chapter mentioned a prank diary and Harry sat up at that one. He'd have to find the book and see what was in there. Then Harry came across the chapter that detailed Remus Lupin's 'furry problem'. Harry nearly dropped the book in shock. Remus Lupin was a werewolf! Harry continued to read on, discovering that he had lost his parents in the attack when he got bitten as a child, and they even knew who it was, a man named Fenrir Greyback, who was well known to the Aurors. The man was well known for targeting young children and was probably using them as a way to build up an army of his own. Harry shuddered at the description of the man. Harry mentally added werewolves to his list of things to research. Because of Remus' problem, the other three had decided to try and become Animagus and succeeded. They wrote a journal of how they did it and Harry grinned. If he could find that book and followed it to the letter, he could be Animagus as well. Whatever his form was would be a big help to his ninja skills. He decided to spend the weekend digging through his Dad's trunk to find both books. He kept on reading and eventually got to the last page where journal number four picked up at. Harry had seen it already so there was no need to go back and read it again. He put that book up next to the others and reached for the last one to be read, his mother's, book number two. He settled down with that one and spent most of Friday evening reading it. A lot of it had to do with classes and various people at Hogwarts, but it still gave him insights into the kind of person his mother was. Harry felt as if he had known them his whole life after reading their journals. In a way he felt complete. Harry put that book up with the other journals and he knew deep down inside he would treasure these books forever. They were that important to him.

Harry went to his Dad's trunk Saturday morning after breakfast and started looking through it once more. He found all kinds of interesting things in there, and eventually he found the two books he wanted to find. The pranking journal and the Animagus journal. He grinned as he held both books in his hands. What Hogwarts needed now was a prank to make people laugh. Harry started reading the pranking journal and came across a bunch of great ideas. Harry picked one that looked to be the easiest to pull off and began working on it. He copied down the spells he would need to cast and decided Sunday night dinner would be the best time to do it. This was going to be a lot of fun. Harry tucked the list into his pocket and slipped out of his trunk and joined everybody in the common room. People were sitting around reading and working on various assignments. As fate would have it, Harry was asked to accompany one of the Aurors to McGonagall's office for a conversation.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall began, "I have here a folder from Professor Dumbledore that he gave me some time ago. One of the papers in the folder had nothing to do with what he gave me, rather, it has something to do with you knowing about our current situation. Perhaps you can shed some light on all of this?"

Harry scratched his chin for a moment as he thought quickly. He decided to give her the bare facts without compromising his secret. Harry spent the next twenty minutes telling her what he knew and what he suspected. McGonagall did not interrupt him one time as Harry talked. Only when Harry was done did she ask questions and Harry did his best to answer them all. Eventually McGonagall nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. You have done us a service. I can and will advise Lockhart as he seems to know who the culprit is," she informed Harry.

It seemed to Harry that McGonagall didn't like Lockhart at all. In fact, Lockhart had been going round spouting off that he had an idea of who it was, and last class he had implicated Hagrid, something that greatly angered Harry and Lockhart ignored the warning signs of an impending Potter attack. Harry managed to control his temper and had gone up to the Room of Requirement and beat up a bunch of dummies spelled to look like Lockhart. McGonagall dismissed Harry and he headed to the great hall at once. It was empty and he went right to work casting the spells needed for the transformation. Once he was done he sneaked out of the great hall and headed back to Ravenclaw tower. One of the Aurors stopped him and asked him what he was doing, and then escorted him back to McGonagall's office. McGonagall vouched for him and then told him to escort Potter to the great hall, as dinner was to start in ten minutes. The Auror and Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table and the man shared what he knew of James Potter with Harry.

"Thank you," he said to the man. "Your sharing with me about my dad means a lot to me."

"You're welcome Harry," the man said. "You should know just what kind of man your father was. I could myself fortunate to have known him back then. Yes I was just a rookie and looked down on by the others, but your Dad did what he could to help me out, and not just me, but the other rookies that were there at the time. A lot of us owe our lives to him."

The doors to the great hall opened and people were arriving for dinner. The man walked away and took up his post at one wall. All the houses and the staff settled in for dinner and then it was served up. Hermione, Neville, and Luna joined Harry as they usually did. People were talking as they usually did.

"Anything new Hermione?" Neville asked.

"I feel as if I'm very close to a breakthrough," Hermione announced. "I can feel it. I've been tracking down every creature possible that is capable of doing what Harry says it can do. Just a matter of time now."

Harry nearly laughed at Hermione's choice of words. The prank was about to start any moment now. Harry glanced up at the Slytherins and saw the first set of cat ears appear on some of them. The prank was working. It didn't take long for the cat ears and cat tails to appear. Then one of the Slytherins meowed. Then a second one. Then a few more. The Slytherins suddenly took on a look of horror as they realized someone had pranked them. Then Pansy Parkinson was the first to let everyone know what was going on by jumping up.

"!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, getting people's attention.

The hall went silent, people looking up from their plates and conversations to turn and look at the Slytherins.

"Look at the Slytherins!" someone called out.

And that was all it took. The hall exploded in laughter as a red faced Pansy sat down. The laughter continued as the Slytherins sat there glaring at everybody. They stood up, stuck their noses in the air, and walked out as a group. Harry knew the effects would wear off after an hour. Harry turned back to his dinner.

"That wasn't very nice," Hermione huffed, but Harry could see a tiny bit of a smile on her face. "Who would do such a thing?"

In answer to her question, there was a loud pop and a big red balloon appeared along with confetti carrying a banner that proclaimed, "This prank brought to you courtesy of the New Marauders."

That set off even more talk as to who it could be. Harry smiled to himself knowing he had succeeded with the prank in getting people to talk about other things instead of the current situation. Harry glanced up at the head table and all of the teachers and staff with the exception of McGonagall, Fudge, and some toad looking woman weren't laughing. Harry hoped they wouldn't find out it was him behind the prank. The balloon and the banner disappeared a few minutes later, and that meant they couldn't check it for a magical signature as Harry had followed the directions to a t. He was safe.

Just before Harry was able to leave the hall, the man McGonagall had introduced Minister Cornelius Fudge hailed Harry.

"Mr. Potter, a word with you please?" he called from behind him.

Harry turned to the man and smiled. "Good evening sir. Enjoy your dinner? The Hogwarts Elves are great chefs."

"Indeed I did and indeed they are," he beamed as he put his arm around Harry.

He escorted Harry into a side room with the toad looking woman dressed in bright pink following them. Something about her put Harry on edge.

"I need to ask, Mr. Potter. Professor Dumbledore claims that you are going dark. Is this true?" Fudge asked. "He told me about you tattoo and your earrings."

Harry turned to the toad woman as he mentally named her. "Please forgive my bad manners. I am Harry Potter."

"I am Dolores Jane Umbridge, undersecretary to the Minister," she said importantly as Harry reached out his hand.

He took her hand and bowed slightly. "I am honored to meet the lady."

That knocked her back for a loop. Fudge beamed grandly.

"Very noble of you Mr. Potter," he said.

Harry motioned to the nearby chairs. "May I offer you seats? Some tea?"

Once they sat down and Harry served out the tea, he turned to Fudge.

"Sir, I must assure you that I am not going dark. The tattoo and the earrings were my personal choice, and for some reason Professor Dumbledore finds them offensive, and I don't know why. I have asked him on more than one occasion and he refuses to answer my questions. For a person to go dark it must be their decision to do so. Often time it is a result of some major trauma in a person's life that makes them that way, or someone introduces them to the dark path making it sound so wonderful, or it's a desire for power over people that makes them dark. There are lots of reasons for a person to go dark. But I must ask you this, sir, why would I want to go dark when it is responsible for the deaths of my parents? If I did go down that path, not only would I disgrace myself but also I would disgrace the Potter name and I have no wish to do that. Yes I want revenge, and that revenge is to live my life well, and with honor," Harry said.

Fudge nodded. "Well said young man, well said."

Harry smiled. "One more thing, and that is the deal we made is still in effect. I am just a schoolboy, what do I know of leading people? No sir, that job is safe and secure in your hand simply because you are much more experienced than I am in the workings and doings of the Minister's Office. I salute you for taking on an incredible job."

Fudge beamed even more as Umbridge looked smug. Harry did not like the feeling he was getting from her. He wondered if there was a way to get information on her.

"Mr. Potter, thank you for that. I wish I could stay for more chat, but I must be on my way as I have business back at the Ministry to tend to."

"Of course," Harry smiled.

Harry escorted them to the main doors and saw them off. He turned around and headed back to his trunk. He had work of his own to do.

To Be Continued


	7. Into The Chamber

Ninja Wizard CoS 07

By David

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling has that honor

Notes: the marks [] indicate Japanese spoken. The marks indicate snake speak.

Ninja Wizard CoS 07

'Into The Chamber'

The next attack happened a few weeks later the first of March, throwing Hogwarts into a total panic. This time it was a Ravenclaw, Penelope Clearwater. Percy had been the one to find her and managed to get her to the infirminary, demanding that something be done right now. Madame Pomfrey managed to get the extremely emotional Percy to calm down. He started up a vigil next to her bed and that was where Harry found him late one night when he went round the castle looking for more clues. He stood there in the shadows for a time and watched him sleep with his head on her shoulder and holding her hand. Harry learned a great deal about love in that moment. He knew now that they would be together forever, Percy's love for her was that strong. Harry nodded and slipped away. He didn't intrude. Sitting at the Ravenclaw table the next morning Harry took the opportunity to look around at the somber faces. Fred and George Weasley were looking glum. Hermione was missing from the Gryffindor table, no doubt in the library looking for information. Ginny, well, she looked absolutely a wreck. Harry frowned at that and wondered if she was somehow connected to all of this. Harry decided to go and visit Hermione and see if he could help her. He left the table and headed up to the library. He found her in one of the far back corners. She looked up as Harry walked up. He handed her a steaming mug of tea.

"Oh thank you Harry," she said. "Any news?"

Harry shook his head and sighed. "None. I came to tell you something in hopes that you can keep it to yourself."

Hermione nodded. "Go on."

"You already know of my ability to speak to snakes. The creature we are after could speak Parseltounge. I heard it the night we found Filch's cat," Harry said.

Hermione wrote that down. "Thank you Harry. That helps me a lot."

"Good luck with that," Harry said.

He stood up to walk away and then Hermione called out to him. "Why did you wait to tell me that, Harry?"

Harry stopped, staring ahead. "Because I didn't want you or anyone else to think that I was going insane."

Harry continued to walk out of the library, leaving Hermione behind.

"I don't think you're insane, Harry!" Hermione called out to his retreating back. "Not one bloody bit, Harry Potter!"

Harry heaved a sigh of relief as he continued down the stairs. Hearing that had made him feel better. Hermione Granger believed in him.

Harry used his sneaking skills to listen in on a staff meeting the next morning. He seriously needed a way to set up listening devices inside Hogwarts so he could keep tabs on certain people including a devious headmaster. He turned his attention to what was going on. McGonagall had the floor at the moment.

"I have had a serious discussion with the ministry this morning," she began. "If these attacks are not stopped and this… thing is not found and stopped, Hogwarts will have to close."

"It won't come to that, my dear lady!" Lockhart spoke up. "I believe I know what it is that is causing the trouble. I am currently engaged in a search for the fabled Chamber of Secrets, as I believe the creature lurks within."

Harry had to bite down on his hand to keep himself from breaking out in laughter. The damned fraud couldn't find his own ass to wipe it clean if he was given directions.

"Oh really, Gilderoy?" Sprout spoke up and Harry detected a bit of anger in her voice as she spoke up. "Do tell."

Harry had never known the pleasant lady to get angry for anything. He knew that Lockhart had rubbed her wrong about fixing some of her plants after Malfoy had his 'accident' in the greenhouse back when they were repotting the Mandrakes. Harry had a sudden vision of Malfoy getting locked up in one of the greenhouses with a group of pissed off Mandrakes. He could take bets as to how long Malfoy would survive. Tempting thoughts. Harry filed that one away for future reference.

"I have every reason to believe the entry to the chamber is in one of the classrooms, dear lady. I am still searching every classroom in my attempts to locate it," he said haughtily.

"Please continue your search, Gilderoy. Time is of the essence. I can dismiss your classes if you wish so you can devote your time to searching," McGonagall said.

Harry got a wild idea. It would have to be timed just right. He needed to find out where he would be searching and would plant a trap of some kind.

"That would be so kind of you, madame. I will be working on the fourth floor right after the meeting," he announced. "I shall get started straightaway!"

Harry heard a chair scraping the floor and then the door closed.

"Right. That's gotten the arsehole out of the way," McGonagall growled.

A voice piped up, and it was Trelawney. "He will not find it Minerva. I have seen this. No, another shall rise to the challenge and shall defeat Slytherin's monster, and he shall be the hero of the day."

Harry knew from his reading his Mom's journal that it was Trelawney that gave the prophecy that caused all of this in the first place. He knew every word by heart, having written it on his war room wall. There were too many questions in his mind about it, and he suspected that Dumbledore knew it too. Harry had hated the old fraud at first and had worked his anger out over the prophecy in the Room of Requirement for some time. Once he had burned off his anger he sat down to think about it and eventually decided it wasn't her fault that she gave the prophecy. The fact that Dumbledork had withheld it from him truly pissed him off. He would deal with it at the right time.

"Thank you for that, Sybil. As long as he is occupied he will be no trouble. The Ministry is sending extra Aurors to assist us," McGonagall said.

From there the meeting had gotten boring so Harry slipped away and sat in a nearby classroom to plan his trap on Lockhart. He considered half a dozen things before hitting on the right one. He went to the forth floor and found Lockhart in one of the classrooms poking at the walls with his wand. Harry slipped into the next room and went to work with his trap. He grinned as he put the finishing touches on it. He managed to get out of there in the nick of time as Lockhart came out of the room he had been in and went into the one Harry had been in. Harry waited for the girlish scream he knew would come and a few minutes later it did. The door to the room opened, and a purple slimed Lockhart came out in a total daze and giggling. He slowly ambled off to the stairs and Harry raced to a portrait that he knew was a secret passage to the ground floor. Harry casually strolled into the great hall finding people in there. Lunch was just getting started. Harry took his customary place and then the doors were flung open wide to admit Gilderoy Lockhart. People gasped and then the laughter began. Lockhart smiled as he strolled up to the head table.

"I seem to have found a clue," he announced, and then face planted into the floor.

Harry made sure to make a picture from the memory later in his war room.

Nothing happened for the next few days. Harry walked around with the feeling that he was forgetting something vital. Hermione was still searching for a clue as to what the beastie was. Everybody was still traveling in groups, and all of them were clutching their wands expecting an attack even though the Aurors were telling them that there was nothing to fear. Harry however, wasn't convinced. It was simply a matter of time before something happened, and it finally did. Hermione was found by the library one morning. Harry raced into the infirminary the moment he heard. He watched as Hermione was laid on the bed and closely examined. When Pomfrey backed off Harry moved in. The first thing he noticed was the mirror she had in her left hand. Harry frowned at that and moved his head next to hers. He studied the angle of the mirror and realized she had been using it to look around corners. Smart move, but the creature got her in the end. Harry glanced at her right hand and it was curled up into a fist. He looked into her fist and discovered a bit of paper peeking out from it. Harry looked around to see who was there and the adults had moved off. Harry turned back to her and carefully pried her right fingers open to get at the bit of paper. He got it and slid it into his pants immediately. He heard voices coming and he moved his head back down next to hers.

"Mr. Potter?" came that sickening sweet voice.

"Yes?" Harry replied.

"What is it you are doing to the poor girl?" Umbridge asked.

Harry stood up and motioned for her to join him. "If you look into her left hand, you will note the mirror she is holding. She was using it to look around corners for the creature that's been attacking Hogwarts."

Umbridge did and Harry pressed on with his theory about the creature.

"Am I late?" Lockhart asked, rushing into the hospital wing.

Harry mentally groaned, this was so not needed right now.

McGonagall was next. "Minister, we have a student missing, a Ginny Weasley."

Those words chilled Harry to the bone. Oh God no!

"NO!" Percy yelled from the other side of the room. "You gotta find her!"

Percy appeared looking unkempt, terror in his eyes. Harry knew he needed to solve this thing right now. Professor Kettleburn rushed in.

"There's a new message on the wall!" he gasped. "Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."

Percy let out a moan and collapsed on the floor and started sobbing. "I've failed! I was charged by my father to watch over her and I failed! I've disgraced the name Weasley!"

Harry went over to Percy and started massaging his shoulders. "The Aurors will find her, Percy. Don't give up just yet."

A moment later Percy closed his eyes and Harry grabbed him. "I got him."

He laid Percy on the floor and pulled his wand. He cast Wingardium Leviosa on Percy and floated him to the nearest bed and settled him on it.

"Twenty points for showing concern to a fellow student, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "That was very kind of you. You need to return to Ravenclaw tower, Mr. Potter. The school is now under complete lockdown."

"I shall double my efforts!" Lockhart called out grandly and rushed off.

The adults turned back to the conversation at hand and Harry took the opportunity to slip out of the hospital wing. He went down a flight of stairs and went into the sixth floor foyer to examine what it was he took from Hermione. It was a page from a book.

"Of all the dangerous snakes that exist, there is none that is more fearful than the Basilisk, and he is considered to be the absolute king of snakes. Their gaze is deadly, known to kill on sight. It can petrify the victims, if the victim looks at the snake's reflection in water or a mirror. The largest one on record was sixty feet and weighing in at one ton. He was captured and killed a little over a thousand years ago," Harry read.

Harry dropped the paper on the couch next to him as he groaned. He needed to go after Ginny and he wasn't sure just where she was. Then he suddenly remembered something Aragog had said about a girl who had been killed in a bathroom. Would that be Moaning Myrtle? Harry had heard of her. She was legend at Hogwarts, a girl who haunted the third floor bathroom, having died fifty years ago. What if…? Harry jumped off the couch and raced down the stairs to the girl's bathroom on the third floor. He turned the corner and headed down the hall to where it was and encountered a flood of water halfway down. He skidded to a stop noting the new message on the wall. This was not good. Harry entered the bathroom.

It was gloomy in there. He moved further into the bathroom and a torch came to life. In the center of the room were a group of sinks set in a circle. Beyond that were a row of stalls, six to each side. There was noise coming from one of those stalls.

"Hello?" Harry called out, and suddenly there was a ghost of a girl in front of him and Harry wondered if this was what Myrtle had looked like in life.

She had her long black hair pulled into pigtails, she wore round glasses, and she looked nice for a girl.

"Who are you?" she asked Harry.

"My name is Harry Potter," he began.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "Come to make fun of me?"

Harry stepped back. "Now why would I want to do that?"

Myrtle moved in closer. "Because every one else does!"

"But I'm not like everyone else," Harry protested. "Nobody should ever be bullied. Not right."

"Why are you here?" she repeated.

"I came here for two reasons. First to meet you. Second reason is to ask you how you died. There is a Basilisk running around the school causing all kinds of trouble and I'm trying to find it to rescue a friend," Harry said.

Myrtle nodded as she took a turn round the stalls. Then she came up to Harry.

"I came in here because I was really upset because Olive Hornsby was teasing me about my glasses," she began. "I was sitting in that stall crying."

She pointed to the third one on Harry's left.

"I heard somebody come into the bathroom and then I heard a boy hissing something. I came out of my stall to tell him that he was in the girl's bathroom, and then… I died," she said, looking off into the distance.

"Myrtle, did you see what it was before you passed on?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "I saw a pair of very large yellow eyes."

"Did you see where it was?" Harry asked.

Myrtle drifted over to the sinks. "Yes. It was right here."

Harry began examining the sinks carefully, one by one.

"No, this one," Myrtle touched one of the water faucets. "This one never worked at all."

Harry moved up and examined it very carefully and then found a tiny snake etched into the curved pipe. He knew he had found it. Harry stepped back and concentrated on the tiny snake, thinking of Parseltounge.

Open, he hissed.

A rumbling was heard and Harry moved back as Myrtle giggled happily. The top of the sinks moved upward and two of the sinks split open to reveal a dark hole. There was no question in Harry's mind he had found the Chamber of Secrets.

"Oh!" Myrtle exclaimed. "You found it!"

Harry nodded. "Yes I did, and it was because you helped me."

"HARRY!" Myrtle screamed just as Harry's danger sense went off.

He spun round as Lockhart rushed him from behind, slamming him into one of the sinks. Harry's back complained of the rough treatment and Harry reacted as he had been trained to. He managed to shove Lockhart backwards and the man stumbled backwards. He yanked his wand and fired a spell at Harry but Harry was already moving to avoid it. The bits of sink and stone flew at Harry, scratching his face and hands as he tried to avoid the shrapnel from the spell. Harry moved forward, his hands out in front of him and he made a pushing motion towards Lockhart. Lockhart felt himself get pressed against the wall and he whipped up his wand for another shot at Harry. Harry spun to the right and that spell missed him. Harry suddenly lost his footing as he stepped on a fragment of something, causing him to fall backwards. Lockhart was on top of him in seconds, his wand underneath Harry's chin.

"Nice moves, lad. Nearly had me there," Lockhart smiled brightly. "Try not to move, laddie. I'll blow you head off."

Harry kept still as his mind raced for a solution to the situation.

"It was too bad for you, Potter. I got here too late to see the Basilisk take you into the chamber. I tried to save you but the sight of Miss Weasley's body was too much for you and you lost your mind. I managed to kill the snake and return with her body and you in restraints. Oh Potter, I do wish I had saved you in time."

"BEHIND YOU!" Myrtle screamed.

Lockhart turned and the wand under Harry's chin wavered but a moment, and that moment was all Harry needed. He grabbed Lockhart's wand and pushed it away from him and kicked him hard in the place a man or boy should never be kicked. Lockhart squealed in a very high C and folded to the floor while holding himself. Harry whipped out his wand and called out the incarcerating spell, magical ropes popping out to tie up Lockhart tight. Harry propped him up in a corner and kept the man's wand. Lockhart glared at him as tears streamed down his face, his face now taking on a deranged look as he struggled.

Harry looked at the man. "I knew there was something rotten about you. So tell me, does that mean all the shit you wrote in your books was just that, shit?"

Lockhart laughed out loud. "Of course. Wasn't that hard to do. I went traveling after I left Hogwarts. I wanted to get away from my pathetic family, dirt poor farmers on a pig farm. I changed my name once I got into Hogwarts. I convinced people that I was taking potions to repair my face from a horrible accident. I discovered my talent for memory charms and used them constantly to get what I wanted, a new face, a new life, fortune and fame. Memory charms and the obliviated spells work so well on weak minds."

"Fortune, fame, mirror, vain, gone insane. You really are pathetic Lockhart," Harry said as he leaned over the man to rip his sleeves open to find clean forearms.

Lockhart laughed once more. "You think I'm a filthy death eater, boy? I am nothing like them! I am no killer!"

"You're right," Harry nodded as he stepped back. "You're a thousand times worse then they are. God have mercy on you."

Harry turned and looked down into the hole.

Myrtle moved up next to Harry and looked down into the hole. She shivered at the thought of the Basilisk that was down there.

"Harry?" Myrtle spoke up.

Harry turned to her. "I have to go down there, Myrtle. I need to stop the snake and save Ginny. If I don't return in three hours time, get everybody in here. Tell them about that slime, too."

"Be careful Harry!" Myrtle said.

Harry smiled. "You're a pretty girl, Myrtle. Nobody should ever speak ill of you."

Harry turned and stepped into the hole. What he stepped on was slippery and it turned out to be some kind of slide like the water park at Alton Towers had. Harry allowed the slide to direct his movements and hoped his landing would be a gentle one. A few minutes later the slide changed direction to go flat instead of down. Harry felt himself slowing down until he stopped. He managed to get up and tried to shake off the gunk off his robes. He gave up and pulled it off and tossed it to the side.

"Lovely little ride," he said out loud, his ninja suit appearing on him.

He felt the familiar weight of his sword on his back and he felt a bit better. Time to move out. Harry walked in the one direction that was possible. Getsumi no Michi was telling him that there were things down here and to beware. Harry knew that this was no training mission. He was down here to save a life and to hopefully stop a snake from killing. Harry came to the end of the tunnel he had been walking down and cautiously peeked round the corners. He didn't see anything but his senses were telling him there were. Harry stepped down onto a ledge and looked around. There was a bridge in front of him. His right hand grasped a hook he had conjured up just in case. He moved to the left side of the bridge and started across. The bridge suddenly collapsed when Harry reached the center of it and he reacted, throwing the hook at the rail of the bridge as he fell. The hook bit into the wood and Harry swung into the wall. He rapidly climbed up the rope and rolled over the edge just as the bridge closed up. A pair of imps suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked. Harry used the momentum of his roll to get to his feet and did a flip over them, and speed drew his wand, his wand popping into his left hand from the specially designed spring loaded wand holder that was strapped to his left forearm, using Flipendo to knock the imps over the edge. Harry spun round still in his low crouch and checked for any more threats. There were none and Harry pushed his wand back into the holster and moved on. The quick action had produced a shot of adrenaline and he knew now he would be working at peak efficiency. Harry moved on.

He walked down to the door in front of him and checked it out carefully and then stood off to the side as he cast the unlocking spell. The door popped open and nothing came racing out for him. Harry slid through the doorway going right, and he was glad he did as a fire crab shot a stream of fire at him. It paused and Harry used the opportunity to move fast, three quick steps and a forward flip over the fire crab as it let loose another stream of fire, missing Harry completely. Harry landed and with a snap of his wrist, sent a fireball of his own out in front of him, as it was dark in front of him. The fireball revealed nothing and Harry slid to a stop, clear out of range of the fire crab. Harry knew now that he had triggered some kind of magical defense system and he had to work at avoiding them all.

"Like this is gonna be easy," he said out loud.

He looked up the moment he heard the sound. He wasn't sure what it was but he had a feeling it wasn't a good thing at all. He conjured another fireball and sent it up ahead of him. It lit his way through the dark tunnel and he paused when he reached another doorway. It was really wide and tall like the other doorway had been. Harry wondered if that was any indicator as to the size of the snake. He hoped not. Harry stepped down and the door snapped shut behind him. There was a tingling at the base of his neck and he knew there was something out there, his senses were warning him of danger. He moved forward and all of a sudden the big cavernous room lit up. Harry blinked at the sight of the stone snakes set in rows on each side of the path he needed to take. Harry moved forward once more keeping alert to anything. Then suddenly he spun around, his short swords out and blocking the claw strike from a bigger than normal imp. Harry struck back and the imp ducked as his short sword passed over the head of the creature. The fight was on, and both combatants traded blows while blocking blows. Harry moved backwards as the imp pressed the attack and then Harry slipped on something and fell backwards on his back. The large imp moved in, claws poised when the stone snakes on either side of Harry did the unthinkable. They spit fire. The tall imp got caught in the middle and Harry kicked himself back, digging his heels into the stone floor, the uneven surface providing traction for Harry to move. The tall imp screamed out in pain and stumbled backwards. The fire stopped and Harry watched in morbid fascination as the imp performed a macabre dance of fiery death. Harry didn't have time to see the rest of it as a pair of tall imps popped up and attacked. Harry managed to block the strikes and jumped to his feet and pressed an attack of his own, going after one of the imps and holding off the other one. He managed to cut open the right arm of that particular imp, making it back off as he turned to the other one. He whipped up his right foot and kicked the second one into the stream of fire that had had started up again, setting that one on fire. He whipped back around catching the claws on the side of one sword and using the other one to slice open the torso. The look of shock on that imp's face was enough to tell Harry he had beaten that one. It took a few steps back and then fell over.

Harry continued down the path, fighting each imp as he went past another fire breathing snake. He noticed that each set of snakes would spit out fire faster than the last set had. Harry had to time his moves right in order to get past the snakes. He used one imp to get past the last one, kicking it's butt head first into the jaws of that stone snake and he rolled into what he thought was safety. He wondered if there was a way to turn off the trap. He wiped his face off and grabbed his water bottle for a drink. He splashed a bit of the water over his face and replaced the bottle in his combat pack. Before he moved on he used his senses to search for some kind of switch to deactivate the trap, but there was none. Harry put that problem aside for now. He looked at the next door and it was covered in snakes. He concentrated on them.

Open, he commanded.

For a moment nothing happened. Then there were loud clicking sounds and Harry saw the snakes moving round the circular door. They kept on moving until the last had moved and there was a much louder and deeper sounding click. The door started to roll out of the way. Harry immediately prepared himself for battle once the door had rolled away. He moved inside the short tunnel and emerged into the biggest room he'd ever seen. He looked around quickly and walked forward cautiously. He heard the door roll closed behind him and he turned round just in time to see it close with a boom. Harry faced forward once more and moved forward. In front of him was the biggest stone head he had ever seen carved in the likeness of one Salazar Slytherin. There was no mistaking the face, Harry had seen it dozens of times in his History of Magic book. That, right there, was the man. Harry was beyond convinced he had found the Chamber of Secrets. Harry suddenly dodged to the right as something swished down next to him, barely missing him. Harry spun around to see a gargoyle holding a sword in its hands. Harry backed up a few paces and drew ninja-to. They spent a few minutes staring each other down before the gargoyle moved. Harry blocked his forward strike and initiated one of his own. The fight started.

Both combatants worked to beat each other. Sweat ran down Harry's face as he attacked and blocked as fast as he could, the gargoyle matching his strike for strike. Harry tried tactic after tactic but the gargoyle seemed to shrug them off. Harry tried a desperate move, whipping out his wand and casting the cutting spell. It worked, the cut to the right shoulder making it stagger back. It charged forward, raising the sword above him for a forward strike. Harry rolled out of the way at the last second, casting the cutting spell at the throat, and ended up slicing the head off. The gargoyle simply went to pieces and Harry sighed, hoping that was the last of the defenses. Harry looked around and found Ginny at the edge of what looked like a pool of water. Harry raced over to check on her. She was out cold and her pulse was very weak.

"She's nearly gone, Potter. She's not going to make it," a voice said from behind him, making Harry turned around to look.

A boy stood there in the green robes of Slytherin House. He appeared to be at least seventeen and very handsome.

"Can you help me get her out of here?" Harry asked.

"No, I'm afraid I can't allow that," he smirked, and Harry suddenly knew this had to be the youthful Lord Voldemort.

"Why not?" Harry asked as he stood up after making Ginny comfortable.

"Because I need her life to return me to a body, to live once more, to show the world that Lord Voldemort cannot be stopped. You see little Ginny has been writing to me in my diary all year, telling me everything I wanted to know," he said, pointing to a black book on the ground next to Ginny. "Poor Miss Weasley, overlooked by her brothers, shamed of her poverty, constantly dreaming of her hero, Harry Potter, coming to her rescue and taking her away from her wretched life, giving her elegant clothes and a huge castle. It was so easy to seduce her, to control her, to do my bidding."

"So you used her to kill all those people," Harry said.

The youthful Voldemort laughed. "No, not kill them, Harry. Not one of them died as much as I hoped they would. No, they were petrified because they were lucky. But that's okay. Once I have her life I shall command the great beast to kill all of you!"

Harry watched in horror as the boy he now knew as Tom Riddle, having seen the name on the cover of the black book, turn to the head and begin to hiss.

Speak to me, Lord Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four! He called to the head and turned to smirk at Harry.

Harry watched in horror as the mouth opened wide, the rumbling filling the chamber. It stopped a moment later and then another hissing was heard. Harry saw the snout of the Basilisk coming out of the mouth and he closed his eyes, while grabbing a piece of black cloth from his combat pack and tying it tightly round his head blocking his eyes, hoping to defeat the snake's primary weapon. Voldemort laughed out loud and then hissed.

Kill the boy!

Harry moved fast as his senses told him the snake was coming straight for him. He scooped up Ginny and leaped for the far side of the chamber to move her out of range. He laid her down and then moved again, the snake's fangs barely missing him. Harry rolled out of the way and then waited.

"How are you going to defeat my greatest weapon blindfolded, Potter?" Voldemort laughed. "Once you are dead I shall become the greatest wizard alive!"

Harry grit his teeth, wishing he could shut the bastard up. And then help arrived.

Harry turned his head in the direction of the musical song above him. He felt hope stir within him when he recognized Fawkes.

"Where did that damn bird come from?" Voldemort wondered as Fawkes flew overhead, circling the chambers a few times.

Harry felt Fawkes fly down towards him and then held out his hands as Fawkes dropped something in them, causing Voldemort to laugh once more.

"An old hat and a Phoenix? Is that all that tired old man can send you? How pathetic!" Voldemort called out, laughing once more.

Harry jumped away from the wall as the snake struck and missed.

Damn it! Kill that boy! Voldemort hissed.

Harry moved once more, going straight into the pond and getting soaking wet. His feet found the bottom and he moved once more, jumping straight up and catching the bottom lip of the huge stone mouth. Suddenly there was a loud crunching noise and Harry heard the snake scream out.

Smell him out! You can still kill him! Find him by his scent! Voldemort yelled at the snake.

Harry ripped away the blindfold realizing that Fawkes had blinded the snake. Harry jumped back down to the floor and looked at what he had in his hands. It was the sorting hat, and there seemed to be something inside of it. Harry reached in and drew out a gleaming sword. Before he had a chance to examine it, he was moving again, the snake diving at him. Harry hopped to the other side of the chamber where Ginny was. He laid the hat over her chest and nodded to it. Harry turned to face the snake. He slowly cracked his neck and dropped his combat pack along with ninja-to to the floor and used the combat pack as a pillow under Ginny's head as Fawkes swooped down to them. Voldemort laughed.

"A bird, an old hat, and a gleaming sword. How nice. Time to die, Potter!"

Harry moved towards the snake and the fight was on. He knew somehow that the sword he now held was a far better weapon as he felt the magic inside of it. He began chopping at the snake as he dodged the head, making it scream at Harry as Harry wounded it. Harry knew it was going to take more that just a bunch of cuts to kill it. He knew the sword he held was able to cut it, he just needed a way to deliver the killing blow. They danced together, the Basilisk trying to get Harry and Harry trying to kill it and avoid the fangs at the same time. Harry kept moving around the chamber getting the snake to follow him in the hopes that he could tire it out. Once more Harry gave thanks to his gymnastics instructor as he used all of those skills to avoid the snake. At one point the snake tried to swat him with his long tail but that didn't work as Harry flipped over it, and in doing so, gave Harry an idea. He went for the tail the next time the snake tried to hit him with it and Harry managed to get a grip on some of the scales down there, and went on the ride of his life. It was a challenge for Harry to hold onto the sword in one hand and the snakeskin in the other as the snake whipped his tail back and forth.

Kill the little shit already, will ya! Voldemort screamed as Harry zoomed past him holding onto the snake.

Harry desperately hung on as the snake whipped his tail downward a few times trying to dislodge the pesky human from his tail. Harry saw a way to get the snake but he needed to time this just right. The Basilisk whipped his tail upward, and at the point where the tail snapped like a whip, Harry let go and continued his flight upward until he slowed down. He turned his body around, pointing the sword downward at the great head below him and then gathered speed as he fell.

"Either this is going to work, or it won't," Harry said to himself.

Fawkes must have caught on because he launched himself at the Basilisk in an effort to keep it in one place. The tactic worked. The tip of the sword struck first, entering the head dead center and going in, entering the brain and going in, exited through the roof of the mouth, pierced the tongue and going into the bottom jaw, and coming out of the bottom jaw. The Basilisk dropped like a rock as Harry hung onto the sword. It landed hard on the stone floor, making the chamber shake hard. Harry let go of the sword and slid down to the floor as Voldemort screamed in anguish.

"You little bastard!" he screamed. "I'm gonna rip you into tiny little pieces for this! I will kill you in the most painful manner I can think of!"

Harry lay on the floor, gasping for breath, as he was exhausted from his efforts. He moved his left arm and his hand encountered the diary. He held it in his hand and suddenly recalled what Voldemort had said about Ginny writing in the diary and Voldemort using it to take her over. Harry got to his feet and stumbled over to the dead snake. He banked on the hope that the fang he was looking at was very poisonous and then turned to look at Voldemort and smiled.

"Hey Voldie, do shut the hell up, will ya?" Harry turned to the fang, grasped the diary in both hands, and brought it up with all the strength he had left up to the fang, using the fang to poke a hole in the center of the diary.

Harry jerked his face back as a deluge of black ink came pouring out of the book as Voldemort screamed in panic.

"NOOOOOOO! DON'T DO THAT!" he screamed as he slowly faded from sight as Harry kept pushing the book upward, getting covered in the black ink.

Harry dropped to the floor once Voldemort had disappeared completely. Somewhere in the back of his mind something told him that somewhere in the world the spirit of Voldemort was very much alive. His body may be dead, but not the soul of Voldemort. Harry knew he had work to do yet so he managed to climb back to his feet. His first task was to make his ninja suit, ninja-to, and his ninja combat pack disappear. His jeans and t-shirt appeared on him. He went slipping and sliding through all the muck, black ink, and snake blood he could find to get messy. Clean jeans and a t-shirt would look suspicious if one returned from a battle with only his face and hair messed up. He climbed up the snake and retrieved the sword. He used a bit of Ginny's robe to tie the sword on his back. As he did, Ginny started walking up next to him. Harry crouched down to make sure she was okay. Ginny managed to open her eyes and looked up into Harry's eyes.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "What…?"

Harry helped her sit up. "Easy there, Ginny. You've had quite the day."

Ginny looked around the chamber and let out a scream at the sight of the Basilisk.

"It's dead, Ginny. Never to harm anyone again," Harry reassured her.

She clung to Harry for a moment and then started to cry. "It was me, Harry. I'm responsible for everything. Tom… he made me… do all of those… horrible things! I… I didn't kill anyone, did I?" she hiccupped.

"No you didn't. Petrified a bunch of people, nobody's dead, bunch of dead roosters, scared the hell out of everybody. You'll find out later. But you are not to blame for anything, you hear?" Harry said.

Harry managed to get her to her feet and wrapped her robe around her.

"A moment, young warrior," a deep voice said.

Harry turned to see the giant head looking at them both. It seemed alive.

"Sir?" Harry asked, astonished.

The head of Slytherin smiled. "Only an illusion, young Potter. You have done well. Because you defeated my imps and snakes and prevailed against Bessie, you are now the master of the Chamber of Secrets. You now have the right to enter anytime you wish. You will not be harmed. I will show you much and teach you much the next time you come. Fare thee well, young warrior."

The illusion faded away. Harry blinked as Ginny nudged him.

"Harry?" she prodded.

He turned to her as he picked her up. "Nothing. Thought I heard something."

Harry turned and headed out of the chamber, back to the bathroom and Myrtle.

Harry left the bathroom and headed out to the stairs after the Chamber entry was sealed up. He came out on the landing, and the pictures spotted them first. They spread the word, and before long the entire castle knew. People were coming out onto the balconies and the landings as Harry slowly trudged up the stairs towards the hospital wing on the seventh floor.

"It's Potter!"

"He's got Ginny Weasley!"

"He found the Chamber!"

"He's a mess, must have been a fight!"

The Bloody Baron appeared as Harry struggled up the stairs with people pressing in on him, trying to get close to see.

"BACK! Back, I say! Make way for the wounded, you mangy curs!" the Baron yelled at the crowd of students.

The Baron stopped Harry at the fifth floor landing. The stairs moved out of the way as a carpet appeared.

"Step on it, Potter. It will take you the rest of the way," the Baron told Harry.

Harry did step on it as the stair connecting the sixth floor landing to the seventh floor landing moved, isolating the seventh floor. The carpet felt rock solid to him. The carpet moved away from the fifth floor and began to rise to the seventh floor landing as Molly Weasley appeared. The Baron rose with him.

"Headmaster, it would be wise if Mr. Potter were to be allowed into the hospital with the young lady. All of you can fuss over her then," the Baron said.

Harry arrived at the seventh floor landing and stepped onto it. Molly reached out and patted Ginny's right cheek as Harry went past her. Pomfrey directed Harry to a bed and he laid Ginny onto it. Harry stepped back and Pomfrey moved in. Harry sighed as he turned to the back of the hospital wing where he knew the bathrooms were. He needed a serious shower, a long soak in a hot tub, and something to drink.

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said from behind him, "we need to know."

"Not now, headmaster, the boy is clearly exhausted and in need of rest!" Pomfrey exclaimed as Harry kept going.

"Mr. Potter, I insist!" Dumbledore demanded.

Everybody was watching Harry to see what his reaction was. He stopped and turned just enough to look at Dumbledore.

"You will get what you want at my pleasure," Harry snarled. "Sod off."

And with that, Harry disappeared into the hospital bathrooms.

To Be Continued


	8. Aftermath of Battle

Ninja Wizard CoS 08

By David

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling has that honor.

Notes: the marks [] indicate Japanese spoken.

Ninja Wizard 08

'Aftermath'

Harry went to see Dumbledore in his office nearly two hours later, feeling very refreshed and clear headed from his bath. He was now able to deal with the old man and who ever he had in his office with him. People cleared a path for him as he walked through the halls as he had the sword in hand. Harry had the opportunity to examine the sword while in the bath and discovered Godric Gryffindor's name etched on one side of the blade. Since he drew it out of the hat and it reacted well to his magic, did that mean he really was Godric Gryffindor's direct descendant? The Lineage test at Gringotts had said he was. Harry decided to ask Dumbledore and see what kind of answer he would get. So far he felt the old man had been less than forthcoming in a lot of things and feeding Harry the things he wanted Harry to know. Harry had gotten a lot of information from Kazuya in one afternoon than he had from Dumbledore in one year and that made Harry very nervous.

"Enter," Dumbledore called out in response to his knock on the door of his office.

Harry walked in and closed the door behind him. He took note of the people in the office as he walked towards the great desk. Dumbledore in his great throne like chair, McGonagall to the right of his desk, Arthur Weasley to McGonagall's right, and propped up by the fireplace was Malfoy senior with a sneer on his face as he adjusted his elegant robes, and cowering at his feet was Dobby. Harry wondered if Lucius Malfoy, Draco, and Snape all had taken classes in how to sneer properly, sneer 101. Harry approached the desk and laid the sword on the desk along with the diary wrapped up in the dirty and bloody t-shirt.

"Headmaster, Miss McGonagall, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Malfoy," Harry inclined his head to each person.

Lucius Malfoy seemed to be taken back by Harry's formal manners. "Good evening Mr. Potter. Perhaps you would be as so kind to inform us as to what happened down there and how you came upon it."

"I will, sir. Would anyone like a cup of tea?" Harry asked, spotting the pot nearby on a sideboard.

McGonagall did so Harry poured her a cup and then took one for himself while the men had a small glass of whiskey each. Harry nodded and began his narrative of events, starting with the first event and going from there. He chose his words carefully as to not give away any hint of his ninja skills. He closed the narrative with his arrival on the third floor landing. McGonagall looked shaken by what Harry had related to them all and Mr. Weasley looked a bit pale and took a bit more whiskey as Dumbledore leaned back in his throne and nodded as he steepled his fingers. Malfoy nodded.

"Well done, Mr. Potter, well done. Not only did you stop… Bessie, you saved many more lives here in the school. A feat not lightly done," Malfoy stated.

"That's rich, coming from you," Harry said. "You were the one who dropped the book into her basket at the bookstore when you had your fight with Mr. Weasley. Draco had jumped into it and his little distraction gave you all the time you needed to drop this book in the basket."

Harry turned to Dumbledore's desk and picked up the t-shirt wrapped book. "This book, sir. Tom Riddle's spectral form said it was his old school diary."

He handed it to Malfoy and he unwrapped the book and tossed the dirty t-shirt off to his left side where Dobby caught it in his hands. Malfoy turned it over in his hands and then tossed it to the floor.

"I have never seen that… thing before, Potter! Why would I have need of such a wretched looking thing?" he demanded.

Harry leaned back against the desk. "Oh, perhaps a way to discredit the Weasley Clan as they don't seem to fit into your idea of how and what a proper wizard should act and look like. Sorry I don't measure up to your purebred ideals."

Malfoy was working hard to control his temper as he looked down at Harry. He managed a slight smile as he turned away.

"Come, Dobby!" he commanded.

Dobby stayed where he was, holding the messed up t-shirt in his hands as he stared at it in awe as it were the Crown Jewels. Malfoy spun around to look and his eyes bugged out when he saw what Dobby was holding. Dobby slowly lifted his head up to meet Malfoy's glare with a huge smile on his face.

"Dobby is free," he whispered. "Master has given Dobby clothes! Dobby loves the gift master has bestowed upon him!"

And so saying, Dobby pulled the t-shirt on himself, now proclaiming to the world his love for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Harry didn't know what to do, either say something or break out in laughter. Malfoy grit his teeth in anger as he glared at Malfoy.

"Ah, yes, speaking of gifts," Dumbledore said, coming round his desk with a scroll in hand, "the school governors had contacted me and asked me to return to look into the missing Miss Weasley situation. It seems they were under the impression you had made very serious threats to cause harm and foul to the school. Therefore they voted to rescind your membership to that august body."

He handed Malfoy the scroll and the man blinked as he stared at it. "Huh?"

"What the great professor Dumbledore means is that you got fired, your hat checked, your ticket punched, you butt kicked, got tossed off the boat, handed your papers, made to walk the plank, told to hit the road, got towed off, pink slipped, escorted to the curb and kicked out into the street, dragged outta there, replaced, demoted, deported, defrocked…"

"ALRIGHT! I GOT THE PICTURE!" Malfoy screamed as he stormed to the door, yanked it open, slammed it shut, stepped into it, stumbled backwards, started kicking the door as he swore up a storm, opened the door, went through it, and slammed it shut once more.

Harry turned to Dumbledore, and giving him the best puppy dog eyes he could, having been taught by Ichiro the master at the puppy dog eyes look, innocently asked him, "Is he gonna be okay?"

Arthur Weasley and McGonagall both lost it as Dumbledore groaned.

Harry stayed behind as McGonagall and Arthur left. Dumbledore picked up the sword and started to the bookcase with it. Harry was about to call him back when a voice within him spoke up.

"Let him have it," the ghostly whisper said. "It will be safe in here. You can call it to you when you have need of it."

Harry nodded and took his seat once more. "Professor, I am curious about the sword. Did it really belong to Godric Gryffindor?"

Dumbledore placed it inside a glass case and sealed it. "Yes it did, Harry. It is said that it would respond to the need of any direct descendant of his."

"Am I a direct descendant of his?" Harry asked, watching Dumbledore carefully to see how he would respond.

Dumbledore clasped his hands behind him as he returned to his seat. "I don't know, Harry. I need to research your family tree."

Harry instantly knew that Dumbledore lied. Of course he knew! He knew because he was going to use it as a way to manipulate Harry.

"That would be cool if you did," Harry said brightly.

Dumbledore smiled that irritating grandfatherly smile and Harry wanted to stuff his beard down his throat.

"Harry my boy," Dumbledore smiled, "you have done a great service to the school, and I thank you for it. Now all that remains is to revive the sleepers, and I think it shall happen any day now as the potion required is nearly ready. In fact, I am needed in professor Snape's lab to assist with the work so off with you now."

Harry stood up. "Good luck with it sir."

"Thank you Harry, that is most kind of you," Dumbledore said.

Harry left the office and Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and sighed. He hoped he had derailed Harry's curiosity in his family tree for the time being. He must not be allowed to know. It would ruin his plans for the boy.

Harry went into his trunk the next morning and sat down at his desk in his office to write letters, the first one to his family. He told them exactly what happened and didn't skip a detail. He was sure he would be getting an interesting letter back from Kotake and Hiroshi. The next letter went to Ragnock at Gringotts. His response was short and to the point, only three words.

"YOU DID WHAT?" he read when the response arrived moments later.

The second letter from Ragnock started asking questions. Harry invited him to Hogwarts to see it for himself. He did, and the group of goblins stood there and stared at the huge snake. One of the warriors poked at it with a finger and nodded. He turned to face Harry and dropped to one knee.

"You are a great warrior, Lord Potter!" he proclaimed.

The other goblins followed suit and Ragnock just simply nodded. He barked a command and the goblins with him began poking and prodding the dead snake. Ragnock turned to Harry and smiled at him.

"Fate does favor the bold, Lord Potter, especially you. What you have here is a potential gold mine. According to Wizard law and goblin law, the Basilisk in yours by conquest in battle. Nobody can claim it but you, and your memories will testify to that. Now I must ask you a question," Ragnock paused.

Harry nodded. "Go ahead, sir."

"Are you aware that there are uses for Basilisk parts in potions?" Ragnock asked.

Harry blinked as he looked at him. "There is?"

Ragnock smiled. "Of course. If the Basilisk is very carefully cultivated and every tiny bit of it carefully handled we could make an immense fortune from it. You, because it is yours, and us, if we move it into the market bit by bit instead of all at once. I am proposing a joint venture between us, Harry. Fifty-fifty, straight down the middle. I will assign a trusted goblin to this venture as the overseer for the reason is that he is an expert at handling rare finds like this. I will open a separate vault, and Paddington Farms, a company that will be easy to conceal from the Great Wizard Dumbledork, as he will not be able to find it, will own it. There are a number of farms that own vaults in our bank, so one more will escape his notice. There will be a board of directors, and they are you and I. Both of us shall draw a consulting and managing fee from our share. Your share will go into another vault to be concealed from Dumbledork, under the name of Gerald Wilson. Oh yes, Harry, I have this well planned out."

Harry nodded. "Good. Only three requests. We make gifts to Hogwarts, St. Mungo's, and the goblin healers, your choice of who gets what. The rest goes on the market."

"Done!" Ragnock smiled.

Harry smiled as he held out his hand for Ragnock to shake. He had serious plans for his half of the money. He left the goblins to the job of cultivating everything possible from the snake, as they knew what they were doing.

It was in the middle of April that Dumbledore announced at dinner one night that the potion was now ready and they were going to attempt restoration the next day. Harry had been visiting Hermione nearly every day and in that time he had told her the entire story minus a few details and hoped she wouldn't be too upset about what had happened. Then Harry started reading CS Lewis' Narnia Chronicles to her and then gradually included the others. He got so into it he was acting out the various parts with different voices, entertaining those who had come to visit the patients as well. Dumbledore even sat in on one performance and nodded as some of the wisdom in the books. Now the potion was ready and they were going to restore people the next day. Harry knew he had to be there for Hermione when she woke up. Dumbledore nodded when he found Harry there when he arrived the next morning.

"Good morning Harry," he said when he saw him there by Hermione. "You are indeed a good friend to Miss Granger. I hope she understands just how lucky she is to know you."

"Friendship is everything," Harry said. "I freely offer my friendship to anyone who wishes it, no strings attached."

"You are a good man," Dumbledore said just as Horace Slughorn arrived with a big jar full of an amber liquid. "Ah, professor Slughorn. Are you ready?"

"I am, Dumbledore," the extremely large man said. "May I suggest we start with the cat first? A test subject if you will?"

"Excellent idea," Dumbledore said.

They began feeding the cat bits of it until the hoped for reaction happened. Dumbledore beamed at the cat's natural colors began to appear. Filch was next, and he hugged his cat in happiness. Slowly Dumbledore, Slughorn, and Madame Pomfrey went round the room with the potion reviving people. Percy was overjoyed when Penelope came to. He took her hands in his as Dumbledore closed the curtain around them to give them privacy. Harry smiled as he watched Hermione's eyes flutter and then open. The moment she saw Harry her eyes grew big.

"Oh Harry!" she exclaimed. "I know what it is! We need to tell…"

Harry cut her off with a finger on her lips as he smiled. "I found him and decaffeinated him. He won't hurt anyone anymore."

"You have to tell me everything," Hermione demanded as Harry laughed.

"I will. Now just rest a bit," Harry admonished Hermione.

Draco woke up with Lucius and Narcissa on either side of him. He blinked a few times and looked up into their faces. "Mother? Father?"

"Rest now, son. We will take you home once Madame Pomfrey clears you," Narcissa said as Lucius nodded.

The Creevey brothers hugged each other.

"Potter!" Snape yelled from his bed. "This is all your fault!"

Dumbledore walked over to Snape as Flitwick woke up. "Now Severus, do go easy on Harry. He saved us all."

"I refuse to believe it," Snape snarled.

Dumbledore sighed. "We shall talk in my office later this evening."

Ron Weasley was the last to be revived. Molly and Arthur closed the curtain round his bed for privacy as the other Weasley men surrounded Ginny to offer support and comfort. Pomfrey had recommended a mind healer at St. Mungo's that Ginny was to go see. Then it was home for the summer, hopefully a peaceful and quiet one. The others wanted to know now and Harry gave in. People turned their attention to him and Harry spoke for the next fifteen minutes or so, telling them everything except for certain details.

"You killed the Basilisk?" Snape yelped, jumping out of bed, making people gasp at the sight of his boxers that had little cauldrons all over them. "Headmaster, I must get down there and start cultivating it immediately for potion ingredients! Make the brat take me down there! It belongs to us!"

"No it doesn't, Severus," Flitwick stated, hopping from one bed to another and stopping in front of Snape. "According to Wizarding law, it belongs to Mr. Potter by right of conquest through battle."

"He's a pathetic idiot!" Snape screeched. "He doesn't know anything about cultivating the thing properly!"

Snape turned to face Potter. "I challenge you Potter!"

Harry stood there with his arms crossed. "I refuse to fight a greasy, greedy, and abusive bastard. Besides, you're too late by two weeks. The Basilisk is in goblin hands now. I made a deal with them."

Snape made choking sounds as he turned a deep red with anger. Dumbledore looked at Harry sadly and shook his head.

"I could have helped you with it Harry," Dumbledore said.

"If professor Snape is so worried about not getting his greedy little mitts on bits of the Basilisk, he needs to relax. I made a request of the goblins and they agreed with me. Because the Basilisk was killed on Hogwarts grounds by me, and it is mine by conquest, I have asked them to select bits of the Basilisk and I have gifted them to Hogwarts for the potions lab and gifted a bit more of the Basilisk to St Mungo's for use in critical potions."

Dumbledore nodded and Harry could tell it was all an act. "Bravo Harry. Well done. I am sure the healers and potions masters at St. Mungo's will appreciate your gift to them. As for asking the goblins for assistance in cultivating it and then putting them on the market for sale was a good move. They will know just how to handle them. I can and will assist you with your share of the profits."

"That has been taken care of," Harry said, suddenly glad he had Ragnock looking after everything.

Harry could see the fires of anger deep in Dumbledore's eyes and knew the old man was extremely pissed off. Harry decided it would be wise to avoid him for a few days. No need to tempt fate. He turned back to Hermione.

"When can you get out of here?" Harry asked as Dumbledore and Snape left the hospital wing.

"As soon as I check over everybody," Madame Pomfrey said.

She turned to the first person and that was Colin Creevey. Then she moved on to Hermione. Ron Weasley was the last one and as soon as he was cleared to leave Arthur and Molly Weasley walked him out of there and home. Harry escorted Hermione to the Gryffindor tower and then headed back to the Ravenclaw tower.

Harry maintained a low profile for the last few weeks of school, preferring not to tempt fate where Snape and Dumbledore was concerned. Harry spent most of his time in the library with Hermione, Neville, and Luna. He would sit with his back up to a wall, something his father Kotake suggested he start doing so he would be able to see danger coming long before it got to him. Fred and George Weasley approached them one evening in the library as they were working on getting ready for the end of year exams. Cities may rise, civilizations may fall, but school exams must be held. And so with much grumbling, the student population settled down to the chore of preparing for what was called 'exam hell'. Harry noticed them coming and stretched, feeling things pop in his back. The others looked up as well.

"Hey," Harry nodded to them. "What's going on?"

Fred and George took chairs and sat down. "Not much. Just wanted to let you know what was going on with Ginny and Ron. Ron is for all concerned, under house arrest. He can't go anywhere and he's on forced labor until the arrangements for a Weasley uncle to retrieve him are complete. He's going away for the summer, and if we know Uncle Nick, and we know him very well, Ron will be lucky to survive a week with him."

"Ron has nobody but himself to blame for that one. He created his own troubles," Harry said as Fred and George nodded.

"Exactly what Percy said," George said.

"How's Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Better. The mind healer at St. Mungo's been helping her with a lot of things, including her little girl crush on you. She had it bad for you, my brother," Fred stated.

Harry sighed. "Perhaps I should stop in sometime over the summer and talk to her."

"Percy and Penelope have been making serious goo goo eyes at each other," George grinned. "The old boy is in love with her."

Harry chuckled. "No kidding. Penelope has been telling the girls in Ravenclaw house just how wonderful he is. Anytime she starts singing his praises all of us guys run for the hills when the girls start looking at us like that. Well I ain't down with that, man. I'm just twelve years old, what do I know about romancing a girl?"

Fred and George grinned at Harry and he instantly knew he was in trouble.

"Well now good sir," Fred began importantly.

"Perhaps you need one of our newest products," George grinned as Harry groaned knowing he really was in trouble now.

"A series of lessons available by owl," Fred took it up.

"Teaching you the proper way to romance that special lady you're interested in," George stated as Hermione burst out in laughter, gaining Madame Pince's attention.

If Madame Pomfrey was a terror in the hospital wing, Madame Pince, the Hogwarts librarian, was twice worse. Rumor had it she could breathe fire and hear a student whispering in the far corner of the library. She glared at them and snarled. That shut up Hermione right away.

"I appreciate that guys, really I do. But I'm not in any hurry to be doing any romancing just yet. I'm interested in having a few female friends, but just not ready for any of that romancing just yet," Harry told them. "How are your folks dealing with all of this business with Ron and Ginny?"

"Pretty well," Fred replied. "Mum's not chasing after us and we like that."

"She hasn't chased any one since Ron got out of diapers at five years old. Little bugger liked to slip out of them when he was in his three's or his four's and go streaking, especially when it was bath time," George said.

"Now I need to go to the bathroom to scrub that image out of my tender mind," Neville cracked.

"What tender mind?" Fred asked.

"Uh oh, Dumbles alert," Neville said as Harry quickly vanished.

Dumbledore looked around for a few minutes and then left. Harry took his chair back after climbing down off the top of the bookcase next to him.

"I take it he's still cheesed off about you getting to the Basilisk before he did," George said.

"Very cheesed off," Harry said.

"I don't know why he is. Harry did defeat the Basilisk at great odds so it's his by conquest," Hermione said. "I checked the Wizarding law books in here."

"He's a big boy, he'll get over it," Harry said and turned back to the books in front of him. "I wasn't going to be able to hide it from him for very long anyway."

"Is that why you made the gift to Hogwarts?" Luna asked, joining in on the conversation. "That was very generous of you Harry."

"It was the right thing to do," Harry said, "and fair."

"That's what makes you a great man Harry," Luna said.

Everybody around the table agreed.

Harry relaxed and kept his cool as he sat down for the second year exams the following week. The exam board from the Ministry administered them and that relieved Harry, as he knew that Snape would do anything to sabotage his potions grade and Dumbledore would find a way to try and hold him back for the Basilisk stunt. Harry was sure he passed everything by the time Friday rolled around the second week of May. The weather was warming up nicely and everybody was out on the grounds taking advantage of the sun and having fun. Pick up games of Quidditch, volleyball, soccer, and Frisbee were the order of the day. The first and second years were having a blast playing with Otto, the lake's resident octopus. They would slide down his tentacles while he gently flung them one by one out into the lake with another tentacle in the swimming area screaming out in delight. Otto never looked happier. One of the third year boys from Slytherin was a diver in his hometown so he put on a diving exhibition and drew a lot of applause for a few of his dives. Snape gave him points for each dive done well. McGonagall had been pleased with the four foot tall chess pieces and the chessboard lay out on the grass that someone had conjured. A couple more were created and a chess tournament staged. The Hogwarts elves served up hot dogs and burgers to the crowd. Someone had a magical hardened boom box going and a few of the muggleborns were dancing while one was teaching the purebloods how to dance. Harry lay back on his lounger with his newest Samurai novel and was enjoying the warm spring day, all of the troubles now firmly behind him. He had already decided on his summer plans. Harry was going to go packing round England and had laid out a route for him to follow. A few of his year mates lived along his route and he planned on stopping long enough to visit them. He also planned on popping in and out of Potter House here and there as he traveled in the event he needed supplies and whatnot. Then there was the family reunion in Japan late August. He was planning on taking Hermione with him. He had sent the invitation to her and her parents and he hoped that they would say yes. He even invited them too. Flitwick was looking cool in his Bermuda short, the red Hawaiian shirt, the broad Panama hat, and sunglasses as he wandered around talking to various students. Harry had developed a good rapport with Professor Flitwick and both of them had interesting discussions mostly about his mother and how talented she was. Harry had a great deal of respect for the man. The Leaving Feast had been fun, watching professor Snape growl in frustration as Ravenclaw took the House Cup once more. What had been a lot more interesting was the conversation earlier in the day in Dumbledore's office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore greeted him warmly.

Harry glanced at Snape leaning up by the bookcase to the right of the desk.

"Did you get the Basilisk gift, Professor Snape?" Harry asked politely.

"I have, Mr. Potter. It had been expertly cared for," Snape conceded.

Harry smiled. "Good. Good luck with them."

"Thank you Harry, that was most generous of you," Dumbledore said. "Now we must discuss your living arrangements for the summer."

"I have made my own arrangements," Harry said. "Thank you for your concern."

Snape shifted slightly and Harry didn't change his position in his chair but went battle ready immediately.

"I am sorry Harry, but you will have to cancel your arrangements. Your safety is my primary concern," Dumbledore stated.

Harry carefully considered his next words, as he wanted to avoid a battle. "I can understand your concerns for my safety while I am here in the school, but now while I am on summer break when your authority over me ends, sir. I am more than capable of seeing to my own safety."

"Such arrogance! Just like your father!" Snape growled as Dumbledore looked up at Snape.

"Severus, you are not helping," Dumbledore said quietly, and Harry could feel the power in his words, now knowing that Dumbledore was a little pissed off.

"My arrangements cannot be cancelled as they have cost me a great deal of money," Harry replied. "Money that cannot be refunded. Are you prepared to compensate me for funds lost?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry and Harry suddenly felt something poking into his mind. Harry smiled nicely and Dumbledore blinked. Then he felt himself get pushed out of Harry's mind. Nothing was said for a few minutes as Dumbledore tried to regain his balance. He sighed and looked at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, you will follow my orders, and no, I will not compensate you for anything," Dumbledore finally stated.

Harry nodded and stood up to leave. He went to the door and found it locked. He turned back to Dumbledore.

"Are you trying to kidnap me?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore glared at Potter.

"Are you trying to keep me here against my will?" Harry asked him.

Snape shifted and Harry nearly drew his wand but didn't. The door then popped open and Harry nodded.

"A wise decision, headmaster Dumbledore," Harry nodded as he left.

An enraged Dumbledore threw a book at the now closed door.

Harry had the feeling that Dumbledore was going to try and catch him in something as he packed to leave the next morning before breakfast. He decided to put his pack into a pocket of his jeans prior to breakfast and then pull a disappearing trick once he got onto the train. He joined Ravenclaw as he usually did and felt eyes on him all through breakfast as he conversed with Hermione, Luna, and Neville. Then Dumbledore stood up and gave a little speech and warned everybody about the use of magic during the summer and that was it. The hall slowly emptied out and Harry mingled with people saying his goodbyes. He felt the watcher at his back follow him out. Harry decided to confront the person first chance he got and that would be to go into Hogsmeade and pick up a bit of food for the train ride home. He stood in line at the deli closest to the train station and got his food. After paying the cashier for the food he headed off to the train. He glanced back to see if his watcher was there, and she was. Harry watched her for a few minutes and she was somebody that he had never seen before. Small enough for a first year. Harry wondered who she was and then got on the train when it was his turn. He walked down towards the end of the train where he knew he would find an empty compartment to relax in. The girl followed him. The moment she ducked out of sight, Harry slid into a compartment and used his safe wand to create an illusion of him going into a compartment further down and then he disillusioned himself, checking himself for and removing three tracking spells and making sure the illusion he created of himself had them. The girl raced down to where she had seen him and pulled her wand and began doing something. Harry now knew that was no little girl, it had to be an adult in disguise. Harry smiled as imagined the look on Dumbledore's face as it was reported that Harry had vanished from the train. He watched her walk away with a smile on her face. Harry took his seat and relaxed. It would be a long train ride.

Harry woke up an hour out from King's Cross. He sat up and went to work, getting ready for the moment he was to leave the train. He wanted to be ready for fight or flight, and he really didn't want to be involved in a fight, as there would be families on the platform. As the train slowed down he disillusioned himself once more and slipped out of the compartment. He moved out of that car and into the next one, the baggage car. He slipped past the baggage man after he opened the big door and moved into a corner where he could watch everything. The little girl waved to somebody and two men came up to the car and went in. A few minutes later all three of them came racing out and started looking around. The little girl had dropped her disguise and she was a full grown woman now. Harry didn't recognize her and he committed her features to memory. Harry smiled as he rubbed his ring and it took him to Potter House. The plan called for him to relax for a week before starting his backpacking trip around England. He reconsidered his plan of visiting his year mates as he now knew they would be watched to see if he popped up there. Harry went to the kitchen and fixed himself a dinner, as he was hungry. After dinner he went to his home office to find his letterbox glowing. The first letter was from Director Ragnock.

"Greetings, Lord Potter. I hope you are well, and must complement you on your escape from Castle Hogwarts. I must inform you that the Great Wizard Dumbledork was just in my office demanding to know your current location as he wished to 'escort you to a location of safety'. My advisors and I believe he is up to something as he had been here in the past demanding that we turn over to him your earnings from the Basilisk. We know for a fact that he had been looking for your funds through other goblins that have reported to us his efforts. I am pleased to inform you that he hasn't been able to access any kind of information on the Potter vaults, your trust vault, or the company vault. We urge you to be careful in your travels around England," Harry read.

Harry nodded as he put down the letter. Dumbledore had done what Harry suspected he would do and now had put him self in serious trouble with the goblins. Nothing new there, he had gotten in trouble with the goblins before and this was just one more incident against his name. Harry went to the next letter. It was from his family confirming his plans for the August reunion. He smiled at that, knowing he would be having a good time being with family again. He was feeling a bit tired so he headed upstairs to his bedroom and went to bed.

Harry was up a bit late the next morning and headed down to his gym there at the house and put in a hard workout with the weights, went through a training session in the spell arena with the wizards and ninja training interaction program the goblins had installed for him and he had improved a lot. It was getting to the point where he was able to react without having to think about what he was going to do. Harry's ultimate goal was to react without having to think about what he needed to do. He spent most of the day lying out by the pool, using the pool, and planning a new route for his backpacking trip. He decided to stick to the trails in the Sherwood Forest and do the larger trip another time. Having made that decision Harry felt a little better as he didn't want to cause any of his year mates any grief. So he stretched out in the sun and relaxed. He would spend two weeks on the hiking trip through the Sherwood Forest, come home to Potter House, relax here for a few weeks, and then go tour the north of England for two weeks, come back here for another few weeks, and then it would be off to Japan. Harry was glad he had Hermione's mobile phone number, as he had gotten him self one the last time he was at Gringotts. He had seen a mobile phone store outside Diagon Alley and gotten it. Ragnock had sent one of the trustworthy human bank employees out with him and the man had hardened the phone against magic so Harry could use it anywhere. The bills for it were sent to Ragnock through his muggle cover and he made sure the bills got paid for Harry. Harry figured it would be a safe way to contact Hermione if he needed to or wanted to. Harry did call her later in the day.

"Harry," she said once they exchanged greetings, "tell me you are very safe."

"Dumbledore was there at your house," Harry said immediately.

"Yes he was, and Daddy was not happy about the fact that Dumbledore walked right on into the house without knocking. Daddy ripped him a new one. I didn't know Daddy was capable of such language, the kind that would have fried the feathers off Blackbeard the pirate's parrot," Hermione said.

"Hermione, I apologize for having put you in trouble with him. I have no idea what is wrong with the man. Doesn't anybody wonder why an one hundred fifty year old man is so obsessed with a boy? I swear," Harry sighed.

"Daddy wants me to be careful when I go walkabout this summer. We are planning to go on our trips, the first one to Germany and the second to Japan. Mum and Dad are looking forward to meeting your family and I am curious about the Japanese Wizarding World there," Hermione said.

"Good for you. I'll echo what your Dad said, be careful when you go out and about. Dumbledore may be having you watched to see if I contact you. It's best you call me from your mobile when you know you are completely safe to do so. I don't think anyone in the wizarding world knows how to use a mobile except for the muggleborns, and I think that Dumbledore doesn't have any of them working for him even though he says he supports them," Harry said.

"I'll do that. Daddy wanted me to tell you he wants you to be careful out there, especially where you are. He likes you, and that's saying a lot," Hermione said.

"Oh, I take it by that he never liked the boys you brought home before meeting me?" Harry asked.

"No he didn't," Hermione admitted.

"Well, one reason for that is that you are his princess and he just wants to keep you safe, as all fathers do," Harry grinned.

"I know, and I love him for it," Hermione said.

"You're lucky, Hermione. More than you will ever know," Harry said.

"I know, Harry. I have to go, we are going out to dinner in a few minutes. Take care," Hermione said.

"I will. Give my love to your folks," Harry said.

Hermione hung up and Harry closed his flip phone. He sighed as he sat back. Last thing he had wanted to do was to cause Hermione any trouble. Harry sat there for a time and wondered just how much longer he could take this. Being at Hogwarts was no trouble and Dumbledore didn't give him too much trouble there. It was during the summers that he did. Just what was it that made the old man think he owned Harry Potter? He didn't, and sooner or later he was going to push Harry a bit too far, and when that happened, Harry would fight back.

To Be Continued


	9. Summer Interlude I

Ninja Wizard CoS 09

By David

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling has that honor.

Notes: the marks '[]' indicate Japanese spoken, the forward slashes '/' indicate Parseltounge spoken. To everybody who has reviewed Chamber of Secrets, thank you, special shout out to Asiantown, you wrote a GREAT review. I hope you continue to read. All I can tell you is that Harry's just getting started…

Ninja Wizard CoS 09

'Summer's Interlude I'

Harry traded sword strikes with the ninja down in his training room in the basement of Potter House. The goblins had gone down there with Harry's permission during the last school year and had done a huge upgrade to his magical interactive training program, something Harry was seriously starting to consider endorsing he liked it so much. Imagine the benefits the magical schools and the magical law enforcement departments would get out of it. Harry kept going, pressing the advantage while he had it. Harry and his opponent worked at trying to get the advantage over each other and eventually Harry managed to gain the upper hand and barely defeated the ninja. They stood down and the ninja Harry had been fighting then told him about his performance. Harry listened and drank Gatorade as the interactive ninja told him what he had done wrong and what he had done right. Ragnock had gone to the Gringotts Japan for help with this program and through assistance from the Kokura Ninja, he had put the program together for Harry. Harry liked it from the get go and Ragnock had the program installed in the Room of Requirement for Harry to use on a daily basis and Harry did without fail. And because Harry was so serious about his training and keeping his skills sharp they were hard pressed to come up with new material for Harry to learn every day. Harry went topside to cool down in the pool. He paused by the glass sliding door in the living room to leave his black skintight shorts on the chair by the door and then headed out to the pool after rubbing in the Bullfrog waterproof sun block all over him. He did a few slow laps in the pool and then climbed onto a pool float to relax on and soak up a bit of sun as he thought he was a bit too pale. He wiggled his toes in the water as he lay face down on the float and sighed as the sun felt good on his backside. He dozed off for a bit and then turned over after a half hour and tanned his front side. Yeah, that sun sure felt good on his skin after being cooped up for most of the year inside Hogwarts, not that it was a bad place, it was just that he didn't get much of a chance to get outside during the cold months, and that was the main reason for his backpacking trip through the Sherwood Forest. Harry had his plan all laid out, and that was to go on the backpacking trip for two weeks in June, come home for two weeks, then back out again for another two weeks in some of the other forests of England, back home until it was time to go to Japan. Harry had talked to Hermione and after telling him about Dumbledore's being at her house they discussed the plan for Japan. Her parents liked the idea of going to Japan and meeting his Japanese Family and seeing Japan. Harry had been round Japan as a kid and he knew just where he was going to take them. He was definitely looking forward to going home to Japan and the family reunion.

Harry sat down at his desk in his study in the early evening after dinner to boot up his computer to research Sherwood Forest and discovered some interesting history behind it. It had been known as Sherwood forest as far back as 1200, and it was currently located in the north of England, just above Nottinghamshire, and according to legend, it had been the home of the most famous Englander Robin Hood. It now currently was at I,050 acres and was a National Nature Reserve. He read of the various nobles and kings who had been involved with Sherwood Forest and other ones in England. He continued to read about it and discovered there were places in the forest where one could pitch a tent or stay in one of the many cabins scattered around the forest and that it was a very popular tourist attraction. He looked at a web page that informed him of the various ways he could get there, and he decided to go by train from London, as there was a train station very close to the forest called Mansfield Woodhouse. Harry needed to sneak into Diagon Alley so he could get a wizarding tent for the trip. He had heard of them from some of the older boys in Ravenclaw house and thought that was absolutely brilliant, having all of the comforts of home in a magical tent. He didn't need anything fancy, just a basic model, as it would be just himself. As for camping supplies he wasn't sure what he would need so he decided to call Hermione later on in the week and see what advice she would have for him, and that proved to be a smart move on his part.

"Simple, Harry," she said, "why not come here for a night and Dad can advise you on what you will need? You're always welcome here."

"Are you sure, Hermione? Don't want to be a bother," Harry said.

"Dad insisted you come here first," Hermione said.

"Please tell your Dad thank you, I would be honored to accept the invitation," Harry said. "I like your folks."

"And they like you, Harry, which is a big surprise to me, considering the fact that Daddy never liked any of the boys I've brought home in the past," Hermione said.

"That's because you're Daddy's precious princess, and he feels it's his fatherly duty to protect you from the dragons out there," Harry grinned.

"I told Daddy what you just said and now he really likes you," Hermione laughed.

Harry grinned. "Good. So I'll see you in a few days then."

"Be careful Harry. Dumbledore may have people watching this place," Hermione warned him. "Be like him to."

"I will Hermione. Got my word on that," Harry said.

They ended the conversation a moment later. Harry laid his mobile down on the desk and sat back in his chair thinking about his feelings regarding Hermione. Oh he truly liked her, thought she was remarkable in the way she went after things and knowledge like a hungry bulldog and she didn't stop at just one source, she found as many sources as she could to verify something. Harry knew she would be a big help to her when the time came to ask her for help. But he didn't want to base their friendship on that. He wanted a friendship with her based solely on his interest in her and hoped she felt the same way as he did. He decided to go slow and easy with their friendship and see where it goes. He didn't want to mess things up.

Having settled on a plan for the summer, Harry closed down his computer and made a list of what he would need for the backpacking trip. He needed to go to Diagon Alley to get another backpack like the one he used for Hogwarts. Harry really liked the magical backpacks as they could hold just about anything, and when you were searching for something it would bring that item to the top of the pack. Then he would go and get whatever else he would need and load it into the pack. Then he would go to the train station there in London and get his ticket for Mansfield Woodhouse station. From there off into Sherwood Forest. Harry stood up and stretched, feeling things go popping in his body. It was late at night and Harry decided to call it a day. He got into bed after setting his alarm and it seemed to him that it was waking him up much too soon. He sat up as he turned the screaming thing off and looked at it.

"Didn't I just go to bed?" he asked himself.

Knowing he would never get an answer he stood up and headed to his bathroom to start his day. He decided to get breakfast in the alley after his workout and shower. Using the portkey feature in the Potter Family ring, Harry ported into Gringotts first. He got a bit of money and then headed out into the alley. He had a feeling it was going to be a warm one once he got outside. He went and had breakfast at one of the few sidewalk cafes in the alley. From there he went into the store where he had gotten his trunk and first backpack. It was his good luck that the shop owner told him of a new shop in the alley that sold gear for the adventurer. Harry walked over there and browsed through everything to see what was available and ended up getting what he needed, from the wizarding tent to a stove to the climbing ropes he would need. He headed out into muggle London to hit up a grocery store for the food he would need. That had been no problem as he went into a small alley to the left of the store and used the cover of a group of dumpsters to get the food he bought into his new backpack. Then it was off to the train station and Mansfield Woodhouse station.

Harry settled into his seat on board the train he was to take to Mansfield Woodhouse at the edge of Sherwood Forest. He had been looking forward to the trip, as he needed something relaxing to do after the year he had at Hogwarts. He pulled a book from his pack and started to read, as there wasn't that much to see out the window. It took about an hour before the scenery outside started to change from buildings to houses, and then from houses to the countryside. Harry ended the chapter he was reading and put the book away back into his pack and started looking out the window. A half hour of that was all it took as Harry got sleepy and dozed off as he reclined the seat he was in. The voice on the intercom woke him up another hour later to announce the Mansfield Woodhouse station. He swung the pack on his back when the train stopped and got off. The station had been done in a log cabin style and Harry later learned that the station had been built that way back when the railroad had been built through there. He went to the visitor's center and got all the updated information on the best trails to walk and the best campgrounds to stop at. Harry picked what he was told was the best rail to walk and he set off. The day was warm and Harry was in high spirits. This was what he missed not being back home in the village he had grown up in. He could hear the birds high overhead in the trees. Harry encountered other hikers while he was on the trail and greeted them as they passed by each other. He kept on going wanting to reach the first campground by nightfall, and he did. He signed in and got his assigned spot. It was perfect as it was on the outer edge of the campground and well camouflaged by the surrounding trees. Harry pulled his tent from the pack and tossed it to the ground where it rolled to a stop. It lay there for a moment before it began to quiver and shake. A moment later it expanded to full size and Harry went inside. It was nice and roomy inside. To the left was the camp bed with his sleeping bag lying on top of it. To the right was a table with a pair of chairs. Next to that was another table with the propane stove on top. Harry reached into the pack and pulled out a kettle, a bottle of water, tea, and a mug. While the water was boiling for his tea, Harry reached into his pack and pulled out a low folding beach chair and set it on the ground after opening up. He pulled his Potter wand as he took to calling it, as it was his parent's wands fused together and used it to move rocks together for a campfire. He collected a bit of wood and built a campfire. He placed wards around the fire to keep it from getting out of control. He went back inside his tent to get his pot of chili going. Once that was done he scooped out some of the chili out into a bowl and took it outside along with his tea. He relaxed as he had his dinner along with the mug of tea. He briefly wondered how Dumbledore had reacted to his giving them the slip back at King's Cross. He was sure he would be hearing about it later.

Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts.

Dumbledore was furious. Once more Harry had bested him. He wondered just how Harry had discovered his plans to lock up Harry someplace and be fed potions to put him back under Dumbledore's control. He growled as he paced his office. Fawkes sat on his perch and watched the old man pacing back and forth and smiled to himself. He knew the old man would never learn. The more he tried to get his fingers around Harry the more Harry would slip out in between them. He had tried feeding Harry potions over the school year but failed as the boy either ignored the drinks placed in front of him or he would bring down that annoying large tumbler full of either coffee or tea, defeating the old man's attempts. He was truly furious that Harry had pulled a fast one over the Tonks girl. It had been so easy for him to gain control of the Tonks girl by saying all the right things and hitting her with all kinds of loyalty spells, control spells, and tracking spells. The fact that Harry had found the tracking spells that he put on Harry and moved them off him and onto various creepy creatures throughout the school year didn't help him either. Dumbledore needed to know what Harry knew, and he needed to know right now so he could get to work in fixing things so he could draw Harry back into his clutches. To do that he needed a new plan. He went back to his desk and reached for the bottle of fire whiskey that resided in the bottom of a drawer in his desk. He shivered as the fire traveled down his throat and he smiled a grim smile. He reached for the folder that he had on one Harry James Potter and started to read.

A thousand miles to the south Harry paused and sneezed. He had the funny feeling that somebody had been thinking about him in a not so nice way. He decided to be a lot more alert from now on. It would not do for something or someone to get the best of him, including meddling old men. Harry continued on his way after drawing a drink of water from his bottle. He had been making good time on the trail he had chosen. His goal was the campground by the side of a small lake in the middle of the forest where he planned on camping for a few days before heading home. It would give him the time he wanted to meditate and to deal with a few things that had been running around in his head. One item was the problem with a certain old man. Another was the psycho dark lord Voldemort. Harry knew it would take more than a week in the woods to solve both of those problems. He put them away for the time being. Harry stopped for the night in a much smaller campground and got himself set up for the night. He set his security wards before heading to bed. Harry decided on sleeping outside tonight as it had been very warm the last day or two. He settled down in his sleeping bag and gazed up into the night sky and marveled at the sight of the stars above him. He watched a few of the stars go shooting off in different directions. He eventually drifted off to sleep as he thought of being back home. Two pairs of yellow eyes watched him settle down from a distance just outside the ward Harry had put up and turned to each other and nodded. There was the Potter boy, ready for the plucking. They would enjoy turning him and once he had been shunned from normal and wizarding society, they would present Harry to their current master and he would be so pleased and he would reward them very well. Licking their chops, the two werewolves started forward towards their target, not knowing that he was well aware of their imminent attack.

Harry snapped to the moment they crossed through his security ward. Sliding out of his sleeping bag he cast an illusion of him still inside of it and sleeping. He conjured a pair of knives and crouched down behind a bush nearby and waited. Sure enough they came creeping in silently. One of them pulled a wand and cast a bunch of spells and then turned to his partner and nodded to him. Harry instantly realized these two were not ordinary werewolves. They had transformed, but somehow managed to keep their human minds intact. Harry wondered if there was a potion involved that could keep their human minds in full control. Harry watched as they creeped in closer, and then attack. The one with the red hair and the wand jumped on top of the camp bed, pinning down the illusion while the other with black hair grabbed the pillow that was Harry's head and chomped down viciously on what he thought was Harry's neck on the pillow only to come up with a mouthful of pillow filler. Red blinked in shock as Black spit out the pillow filler.

"Hi boys," Harry called out as he jumped over the bush, "let's dance."

The two werewolves didn't hesitate. They attacked immediately, their enhanced bodies allowing them to move faster than a normal human, their razor sharp claws out in an attempt to slice Harry up. Their only problem was that Harry was well trained in the arts of war and was a lot better than they were, but that didn't make them any less dangerous, something that Harry knew well from his reading on werewolves. Harry blocked their claw strikes with knives and his feet into shoulders, moving the second set of claw trying to reach him. Harry pushed off and did a back flip to put space in between him and them. Harry dropped the knives as he realized the blades weren't long enough. He switched to a pair of short swords immediately and waited for the next attack, and the werewolves certainly didn't disappoint. They came roaring in and this time Harry was able to block their claw strikes a lot better, and he managed to slice one finger off Red, eliminating a claw. Red didn't like that and he howled in agony, grabbing the stump of his now bleeding shortened finger. Harry initiated a right foot kick to the face of Black, hearing something go crunch as Black flew backwards, now holding his face and adding his own howls of agony to Red's. Harry knew he didn't have much time to deal with these guys, as he wanted to put them down as fast as he could. He initiated an attack of his own, charging in as he held the short swords to his sides. He swung them as he went past them, cutting open their forearms above the elbows. That caused the two werewolves go into a blood frenzy and they lost all control of rational thought and began attacking mindlessly. For the next twenty minutes Harry and the two werewolves danced a deadly dance of death, each trying to overcome the other. Harry was winning, the blades of his short swords cutting them open and removing their claws as Harry timed his kicks just right to break their teeth and most importantly, breaking their fangs. Suddenly Black gave Harry his opening and Harry swung his left arm backwards cutting Black open from stomach to the top of the chest, bringing the sword straight up. He brought it down and out to his left side removing the head from the body. He turned to Red and he had frozen at the sight of his dead buddy's head rolling around on the ground. Harry lunged forward with the right hand sword, thrusting it into Red's heart slicing it in two and then taking his head with the left hand sword. Red's body dropped. Harry let go of the short swords and they vanished away instantly. Now Harry needed to get rid of the bodies and clear out of there. Harry worked fast, grabbing the sleeping bag he had and casting the expansion spell on it. He floated both bodies into it and zipped it up closed. He used rope from his pack to tie the open end closed tight after rolling a bunch of rocks inside it. He floated the sleeping bag out over the lake as far as he could and then slowly lowered it into the water. Didn't need any splash noise. The sleeping bag disappeared immediately. Harry sighed. Good, that took care of that detail. Harry cast the cleaning spell over the area to make sure there wasn't any blood that would attract the wrong kind of attention. Harry had made sure to memorize the features and noted the Dark Marks on their arms before disposing of them. Deep down Harry knew he had save a lot of lives from these two. He turned back to the camp and broke it down fast. Once everything was in the pack Harry took to the trees and began traveling ninja style to get as far away as he possibly could. He stopped at a rest stop for hikers and went into the bathroom. He spent a few minutes heaving up and wiped his face down with a damp cloth he had conjured. He sat on the picnic table until the sun had come up. It was time to move on.

Harry made it to the campground he wanted to stay at later morning. By now he was feeling better. He checked in and got his assigned camp spot. It was perfect. Right next to the lake and a bit isolated. Set up was easy, toss out the tent and there you are! Harry chuckled as he thought that would make a great slogan for the wizarding tent company. Harry got out his fold up chair and sat down after creating the fire pit. He slowly sipped on his mug of tea as he relaxed, the adrenaline of the morning's combat fading away. He balanced his legal pad as he wrote a letter to his father Kotake and told him what had happened. He would send it out before bed. At least he had the foresight to pack blankets and sheets. He would need those tonight. Harry finished his letter at the table inside the tent as he had dinner. He dropped the letter into his letterbox and it glowed, signaling the letter was on its way. Harry did a modified version of a workout the next morning. He sighed as he went through his stretches and moved into his martial arts. Working out in the crisp morning air made him feel great. He wondered if he should move his gym at home outside. He decided to deal with that later. For now he wanted to enjoy his time away from everything. He headed down to the water with his fishing gear that he had gotten from the Wizarding Adventure store in Diagon Alley. He had gone fishing many times back home in Japan with Kotake, Hiroshi, and Ichiro, so he knew what to do. He cast his line out once he got what he wanted on it and settled down in his beach chair with his book. He didn't catch any fish but that was beside the point. Not having to worry about anything was the best thing he did all day. He did get into the water at some point to cool off for a bit and enjoyed it. Harry took the opportunity to practice his underwater breathing skill and was glad to see it hadn't deteriorated from not enough practice. In the evening he sat and watched the various animals stop at the water's edge to drink. He smiled at the young raccoons as they tumbled over each other as the daddy stood up on his hind legs to watch Harry as the mother had her fill. Then they moved on. The sight of a magnificent stag took his breath away when it stepped into view. The stag looked Harry over and it seemed to nod at him. He turned his head to look behind him and the doe stepped out of the bushes with a fawn behind her. Harry didn't move, as he didn't want to scare them off. They went down to the water's edge and got a drink before moving on. Harry felt blessed for having seen them, and it was a memory he would always remember. He wished he had brought his camera for this. He knew he wouldn't be forgetting this for a long time.

Harry spent nearly two weeks going walkabout in the forest and in the surrounding towns looking at the various things they had for the tourists. Getting home to Potter House was always a good thing, and the first thing he did was to go have a shower and relax in the cool shadows of the study. Harry's mind drifted back to that night when he had tangled with the two werewolves after having read Kazuya's letter on the situation. The fact that the two of them had planned the attack was one thing. To take a potion before transforming into werewolves designed to keep their human minds in control was another. The third this was that they had been marked. Yes it had faded somewhat, but they had been marked as death eaters. Kazuya had reminded Harry in his letter that werewolves could be killed by introducing pure silver into their bodies, but taking their heads certainly worked in this case. The next time Harry encountered them he would use silver tipped arrows from a distance. Harry decided to practice his archery skills for the next few days just to make sure his skills were sharp. He read the other letters that were there and the one from Gringotts stated that Dumbledore was still making attempts to retake magical guardian over Harry and the reminder that Harry was legally emancipated didn't seem to phase Dumbledore a bit. Harry sent back a letter stating that they were to document each incident as Harry was planning legal action, but didn't know when he was going to do it.

Harry felt drawn back to his father's trunk one afternoon and he went digging through it, and this time he took the time to really examine every little thing he found. Harry was glad he did, turning up three books. One was the Marauder Prank Journal, the second was the Animagus Journal, and the third was about apparition. Harry looked at the covers to all three books and decided to go with the apparition book first as it seemed to be a smaller one. It was fairly straightforward. All one had to do was to picture his destination firmly in mind, desire to be there, gather up your magic, and 'push'. The book talked about what could happen if the person 'splinched', apparating without body parts. Harry shivered at the examples and hoped that wouldn't happen to him. If he could do this apparating thing, it would certainly give him an edge in a fight and complement his ninja skills. He stood in the middle of the study and got a picture of himself standing next to one of the pillars supporting the second floor where the Potter library was. He gathered together his magic and 'reached out' for that spot. A moment later Harry felt strange as he felt himself move, a feeling of being squeezed through something before feeling normal again. He opened his eyes and discovered that particular pillar right in front of him. It had worked. Harry whooped with joy. Now that he knew he could do it, he needed to practice it until he got it down to the point where he didn't have to think about it. He would start working on it tomorrow morning after workout. He wanted to get this new skill under control before attempting to use it in a combat situation. He went back to his desk and read it through once more to make sure he had a full understanding of it. The other two books he locked inside his personal trunk where he knew it would be safe. He went back to his dad's trunk, determined to find the last journal from his father that was missing. He had a feeling that there was something in there that would give him the key to understanding the war with Voldemort and why his parents left the safety of Potter House when it had so many defensive and offensive wards on it. Did Dumbledore influence them in some way? If he did, how? Who told Voldemort where to find them? What really did happen that night? There were too many questions and not enough answers. Harry sighed as he left everything where it was and left the study. He would continue his search tomorrow.

Harry stood on the back porch the next morning and picked a spot nearby to apparate to. He flowed the directions to the letter and this time the squeezing feeling wasn't so bad. He opened his eyes to find himself standing on the concrete deck of the pool. He smiled, pleased with that little bit of success. He picked another spot a bit further away and apparated to it. He checked himself over and nothing was missing, not even his shorts. Harry continued to practice apparating and by the end of the day he was doing it effortlessly and flawlessly. Now he could add that skill to his workouts down in the spell arena. Harry went into the study to relax and to continue searching his dad's trunk. By the time he was done searching it he was frustrated. That last journal simply wasn't there. He put everything back into his dad's trunk and went to sit down at the desk. He wondered what to do now. He was sure he would think of something so he put that problem back into the filing cabinet in his head and locked it away. He looked at the two remaining books and decided the Animagus Journal had a slightly higher priority than the Pranking Journal did at the moment. Having decided the issue, Harry returned the Pranking Journal to his trunk and then sat down with the Animagus Journal and started reading it. He discovered the reason for it. One of the original Marauders, Remus 'Moony' Lupin, had what his father called 'a little furry problem' every full moon. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. That revelation rocked Harry. Did that mean Lupin was a death eater? Harry decided to read on. Because of Lupin's problem, the other three marauders decided they would become Animagus so they could run with Lupin in the full moon and hopefully keep him from attacking innocents. Harry smiled at that. That was perhaps the first bit of kindness he saw from his father towards another person, befriending someone like that and wanting to help them out. Harry sat back and yawned, the day finally taking it's toll on him. He glanced up at the clock before him and noted the time. It was nearly eleven. Harry put the journal into his desk and decided to call it a night. There was always tomorrow.

Harry sat down at his desk with his coffee the next morning and withdrew the book from the middle drawer and settled down to read once more. His intention was to read it straight through one time and then follow the instruction page by page. He decided to take the book with him on his trip to the Forest of Dean. His thinking was that he could work on it out there and being in the forest might help him to locate his animal faster hearing the sounds of nature around him. He turned to the book and read it straight through, getting an idea of what to do. He studied the first few entries as it told him that he had to do a potion first, and that it would take twenty four hours to make. Harry wrote a list of ingredients he would need for the job. Harry would have to go to the apocathary in Diagon Alley before heading to the train station in London to get what he was going to need. Fortunately the recipe was right there along with the instructions on how to put it together. Harry liked to cook so it should be easy for him to do. Once more he laid his plans very carefully for his excursion to the Forest of Dean. He didn't want anything going wrong here as he had a strange feeling that the trip was vitally important in ways he couldn't explain. Harry pulled his personal journal he had started keeping and it helped him to get things off his chest and helped him to deal with things as well. He hoped that someday it would help his kids if he had any. Seeing his parent's journals had given him the idea for one and he kept it in the desk he had inside the study that was inside his trunk. It wasn't that he didn't trust anyone in Ravenclaw to steal it, he didn't want it to fall into the hands of a certain old man. Harry spent a half hour writing in it and then locked it away when he was done with it. He was feeling tired so he headed up to bed. Tomorrow would be another long day of training.

Harry didn't spend every day that he was there training. He spent his afternoons lounging by the swimming pool, tromping around the grounds of Potter House, and on occasion going into the nearby town to the movies, the music store, getting groceries, and to the teen center. Harry discovered he had a talent for shooting pool and enjoyed many a game. He even went to a dance there one Saturday night and enjoyed the music and dancing with a pretty girl. He wished it had been Hermione he was with. He hoped he would get that chance some day. Harry got the Daily Prophet by owl every morning and that way he kept up on what was going on. Today's paper was interesting. It seemed that the Weasleys had won some kind of sweepstakes and had used the money to go see their son Bill Weasley in Egypt. There was a photo of the family on the front page with the Sphinx in the background waving at the camera. Ron looked a bit relaxed and Harry thought that was a good thing despite all that had happened to him. Harry noted a rat peeking out from inside Ginny's shirt pocket and didn't think much of it right then and he should have, as the rat would play a key role in his upcoming third year at Hogwarts. He read through the paper as he usually did and it was quiet. No unusual articles, nothing about him, or Dumbledore, or anything mysterious going on. Fudge was on the front page with the Weasleys grandstanding as he usually did. Harry sometime wondered if Fudge knew what being minister meant. With what he saw Fudge doing Harry was glad he had decided to never get into politics. Being a civilian was a lot safer.

Harry stood at the ticket counter at the train station in London waiting to get his ticket to the Forest of Dean station. The heavyset lady at the front of the line was being extremely loud and the bulldog stuffed inside her purse just added to the noise. Harry got a glimpse of her face at some point and he immediately saw the resemblance to his supposed Uncle Vernon. He was glad he'd gotten out of that house when he did. It had been a nightmare being there for the one month. He'd never fully understood how one person could hate another person over some little thing until he encountered Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Those guys from the band Depetche Mode obviously knew what they were talking about in that song they wrote about people. Harry watched the beleaguered agent behind the window pick up a phone and make a phone call. Within moments several more agents, security officers, and a man in a dark suit showed up. Several other windows were opened up and the line immediately got shorter. The man in the suit asked the heavyset woman to step off to the side and then started a conversation with her as a security officer stood behind the man. Harry got his ticket and headed for the train he was to take. The last he saw of the woman she was waving her arms wildly at the man in the suit. Harry shivered at the thought of being stuck with her.

The train ride wasn't much to speak of. The only good thing about it was the comfortable seat. The kid behind him kicked the back of his seat the entire time to the city of Gloucestshire. The baby three seats up cried the whole way there. Somebody was smoking a cigar halfway back. He had a window seat and he couldn't get it to open. He was so very glad to get off the damn thing when he got there midday. He went to the nearest McBurger and had the big burger that he liked so much as he was really hungry. Then he pulled his map from his pack to see just where he really was. He was in the city of Gloucestshire to the east of the forest. The river Wye bordered the forest on the west and north sides of the forest. The river Severn bordered the south of the forest. The forest was approximately 42 square miles. Harry had plotted his trip round the forest and it was to start here. The first campground he was to stay at was a few miles away and he had until seven pm to get there. Harry pulled his pack onto his back and set off after getting a refill on his soda and filling up his water bottles from the water dispenser inside the McBurger. He made a mental note to write to Griphook, the goblin who was now working the Potter Accounts to investigate McBurger, as he believed they made the best burger possible.

"They do make an excellent burger, Harry. I've eaten a few times myself," Harry read the letter Griphook sent back to him, "now would be an excellent time to buy McBurger stock as it has dropped a lot due to their recent troubles, and it's not because of bad food either. Their current problem is in upper management as some of their executives had gotten busted on criminal charges."

Harry knew what those charges were, stemming from their most recent stockholder's meet a few weeks back where a few of the executives had gotten arrested for being drunk in public. Not wise.

"If you wish to buy do it now, as their stock is bound to go up again before the end of summer," Griphook advised.

Harry immediately returned the letter. "Pick up fifty thousand pounds sterlings worth and we'll see how that goes. Thanks for the advice."

"Done and done," was the response.

Ragnock sent a letter advising Harry of the current status of Paddington Farms and one Gerald Wilson, stating they were doing very well. Harry smiled as he slid the letter into his pack to be retrieved later. Amazing at how things can work out so well sometimes.

Harry sighed as he settled down in front of the campfire that evening. He was feeling very relaxed and he had the Animagus book in his lap going over the potion once more. As it had said he needed twenty four hours to make it and then he had to drink it sitting down, as it would knock him out cold. It would send him into a dream world and from there anything could happen. Harry hoped that his form would be one that would complement his ninja skills. He also had the intention of practicing his apparating skills to the point where he could do it with very little sound. He needed to go back and read that book again. Harry had the perfect campsite picked out for the potion as it looked to be in a less traveled area of the forest. He couldn't have planned that any better if he tried. He sat there for a time watching the fire until it grew low. Harry decided it was a good time to go to bed and he did that inside a new sleeping bag. Harry had invested in a set of man sized tarps in the event he encountered any more DE marked werewolves. He had gone back to read up on werewolves and had confirmed the fact that a werewolf can be killed with pure silver but nothing about taking the head of one. Harry had asked Griphook where he could acquire pure silver and the goblin had asked him why. After Harry told him of his encounter with the two werewolves Griphook then went and had sent Harry two dozen arrows with pure silver arrowheads on them, pair of short swords, and a smaller knife all made out of silver. Harry liked the knife and the two short swords as they had been well made. He added them to his combat pack.

Early morning found Harry on one of the main trails heading to his next campsite. It looked to be a nice day as the sky above him was clear. Harry was headed south towards the river Severn. Harry saw plenty of the smaller wildlife, squirrels, rabbits, birds, raccoons, and even heard a snake hissing somewhere in the brush. He stopped for a water and snack break, and enjoyed watching the group of squirrels fight over the bits of nuts he tossed to them. One of them had gotten brave enough to approach him on the smaller tree branch close enough to him as Harry laid bits of the trail mix he was snacking on and the squirrel had stuffed his face full of the goodies until it's cheeks were bulging. Another one did the same and Harry treated to a few bits of the trail mix. Harry eventually closed up the bag, as he wanted to save some for later and took off once more. He eventually got to the smaller trail he needed to turn off onto and started down it. From there it took him two hours to reach the campground he had targeted for his assignment. He examined the map he had of the place and went to the most remote spot possible and to his good fortune discovered it was right next to the river. He got set up and then spent a few minutes putting up wards to protect himself and to keep people away. Having done that Harry went right to work on the potion. He followed the recipe to the letter and within two hours had everything in it in the right amounts. Now it had to simmer for the next few hours and by eight tomorrow evening it would be ready for his attempt at finding his form. All he had to do was down it and then go to bed.

Harry spent the day looking after the potion, reading his book, did a bit of fishing, and in general just relaxing. When the time came to take the potion Harry reinforced the wards, made sure the fire was safe (he cast a ward around it to keep it from getting out of control), and set up his bed just outside the tent. He drew the required amount of potion after it cooled down and then sat on his bed. He exhaled sharply and then downed the potion. He set the empty cup down and got into bed. A few minutes later he was asleep. He found himself someplace surrounded by a strange colored mist. He felt himself being drawn in a direction and started to follow it. He walked for a time in that direction and then started feeling strange. He was now able to see a lot better than normal, his hearing got much better, and he felt like he was on all fours. He kept going until he came up on water. He stopped to check it out. It looked smooth as glass. He looked down into the water and saw the head of a cat looking back at him. He moved out a bit further to look at himself better and discovered that he indeed, was a cat, a Siamese cat. Harry loved Siamese cats. He liked the way they were marked, the way they sounded when they 'talked', and their long and slender bodies giving them that sleek look. Harry grinned. The cat form was perfect. It would allow him to get into places and out when he was operating as a ninja. Harry moved off the log and began moving in another direction. He walked for a time getting comfortable with his cat body when he heard what sounded like a bird calling. He stopped and looked up to see the bird circling high overhead and then suddenly he felt himself being pulled upward. His next conscious thought was that he was flying. He turned his head to see wings of blue-grey with black streaks in them. Harry's jaw dropped as he suddenly realized he had a second form! This was getting better by the minute. Harry threw back his head and laughed out loud in joy. He was going to enjoy this. It was ten thousand times better than flying on his broomstick. He knew now he had some serious researching to do to find out about his newly acquired forms. He also knew he had his work cut out for him in learning how to assume the forms when he needed to. For right now he intended to enjoy this opportunity and did, flying through the trees. He worked on coordinating his wings when he beat them, how to make his turns, go diving for the ground at incredible speeds, and us use his falcon sight to scan the ground. As it goes, eventually all good things must come to an end and Harry felt his body begin to change as he started waking up from the potion induced dream. He awoke to see the morning sun come filtering through the trees surrounding him. He sat up and smiled. The search for his Animagus forms was over.

To Be Continued


	10. Summer Interlude II

Ninja Wizard CoS 10

By David

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and company isn't mine. They belong to JK Rowling.

Notes: the marks [] indicate Japanese spoken. These '/' indicate Parseltounge.

Ninja Wizard CoS 10

'Summer Interlude II'

Harry had just discovered his two Animagus forms and was excited about it. According to his Dad's journal a witch or wizard could have only one animal form. If you were really powerful then you could have two. A witch or wizard having two animal forms was rare. Harry knew he was going to have to do some serious research on his forms to make sure he knew what they were about. He spent the rest of the camping trip working on the transformations. He got the cat down perfectly by the time he returned to the train station to head back to London. The Peregrine Falcon would take a bit more time. Harry was lucky enough to find a bookstore on his way back to the train station and he got a book on the peregrine falcon to read on the way home. He studied each page, the photos, and the history on the bird. Getting into London Harry went on alert as he got off the train. Didn't want to run into one of Dumbledore's 'friends'. Harry headed out of the station and walked a few blocks before slipping into an alley. He pulled the Potter wand and swept himself to make sure he was clean of anything, and he was. He put it back in the wand holster and then used the ring portkey back to Potter House. Before leaving the safety of the apparition/portkey room he looked at the safety monitors on the wall and they were clear, meaning no trouble anywhere. Harry went into his master bedroom upstairs and left the pack on his bed as he stripped off for a shower. Once he was feeling clean he went back into the bedroom to dig out the dirty clothes and took them down to the laundry room to take care of them. He headed into his study to check his letterbox and there were a few letters there. One was from Griphook.

"Lord Potter, I have successfully acquired the McBurger stock you wanted. The day after I bought it their stock began to rise favorably. According to the London Times, and yes, I do read it, their current troubles are behind them and they are getting back to the business of feeding people, their stock began to go up once more as they had started to circulate advertising that they have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of misbehavior in their company and it seems that people are believing them so they are going back to the McBurger restaurants again. Other than that, all is well," Harry read.

Harry immediately replied to the letter and then headed down to his training room to get in a hard workout. Harry morphed into his cat form and wandered around the house checking out all of the scents he came across. By the end of his going walkabout as a cat Harry was feeling very comfortable. He went human and headed back to the study to read the book about falcons. He spent most of the day reading the book and studying each page. Harry wanted to make sure he got every detail right. By five in the afternoon Harry was feeling a bit overworked so he went up to his room and got dressed, intending to go out for the evening.

Harry's favorite pub, the Red Lion, was always a great place to go and tonight was no exception. Harry ordered his usual fare when he went there, a big porterhouse steak, a fully loaded baked potato, green salad with blue cheese, and ice cold coke. The jukebox in the corner was jumping with his favorite music and there were games of footy on the TV's scattered round the place. Harry took his time with his food and relaxed, he was in a good mood at the moment and wanted to enjoy it. He had about two weeks at the house before taking Hermione and her parents to Japan. Kotake had cleared with the Kokura ninja, it was a simple matter of making sure the Grangers didn't suspect anything and Harry being able to slip away for training sessions with the instructors. Harry snapped to attention when the jukebox stopped and someone took the stage and announced the karaoke was open to anyone who wanted to sing. A few people took up the challenge and while most of them were fair, there were one or two that were terrible. One girl did stand out with her rendition of Phil Collins' 'Hold On My Heart', and Harry really liked it. Two kids also stood out with a dance number to Phil Collins' 'Dance Into the Light'. It was a great evening and Harry was able to relax. Harry left the pub about nine thirty and making sure nobody was looking his way, he stepped into a dark shadow and apparated back to Potter House. He checked his letterbox and there wasn't anything new there. He checked the TV guide and didn't find anything worth watching so he decided to call it a day.

Harry called Hermione on her mobile the next afternoon. She picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello Harry!" she said.

Harry grinned. "Hello to you. How are things?"

"Good. We just got home from our trip into France," she said.

"Have a good time?" Harry asked.

"We did, and how was your backpacking trips?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded as he grabbed the bottle of water. "Good. Had fun tromping round the forests. I enjoyed camping out with nature. First time I've done it on my own and it was fun. I'm thinking of doing it again next summer."

"Oh good for you Harry," Hermione said brightly. "Mum and Dad are getting back to work and everything is good here."

Harry sighed. "Good. Glad to hear that. No problems with nosy people?"

"None. Dad's come up with a plan for getting to the airport," Hermione said. "He thinks you should just meet us there and use your Japanese name to board and then we can connect on the plane."

Harry was impressed. "Good idea. Your Mom and Dad okay with being gone for three or four weeks? I am planning on spending my birthday there."

The plan had them leaving on the 26th of July and returning on the 16th of August, plenty of time to prepare for third year at Hogwarts.

"Absolutely. They have great people working there at their office so it's not a problem. They are looking forward to seeing where you once lived and so am I," Hermione said.

"Good. That's settled then. I'll see you guys at the airport on the 26th of July," Harry stated. "We will have a great time."

"Of course," Hermione said brightly. "See you then!"

Harry set his mobile down and smiled as he envisioned Hermione in a brightly colored kimono. Harry hoped the trip home would be a good one.

Harry walked into Heathrow a few days later. He was in his suit looking like an English schoolboy on holiday. His senses were on high alert and so far he hadn't seen anything unusual. He passed through security with no problems and kept his pace steady, not wanting to look rushed. He arrived at the JAL check in counter and got his boarding pass. He glanced over to the waiting area and saw Hermione and her parents together with their carry on bags. Harry wondered if Hermione had books in hers and knowing her well knew that was a safe bet. Harry passed them up and they didn't give him a second look. Harry took a seat with his back to the wall. He glanced at his watch. Fifteen minutes to wait. Harry glanced around as he sat there. He picked up a discarded newspaper and started to read it to kill off some time and to observe people milling around. So far so good. Then a few minutes later there was the first boarding call. Harry watched a family heading towards the door to get on the plane. Then it was a disabled man in his wheelchair. Harry stood up and stretched, feeling things go pop in his body. Other people were standing up and collecting their things to take onto the plane with them. Harry joined the line queuing up to get on board. He glanced around a few times more and still no trouble. Harry had no intention of letting his guard down until the plane was off the ground. Then the line was moving and Harry was able to board. He was directed to the first class seating area and he took his seat by the window. After the usual song and dance from the stewards about evacuating the plane, they were off. Harry was finally able to relax once they reached thirty thousand feet. Hermione appeared next to him and sat down on his left.

"Hello," she said brightly.

Harry grinned at her. "Hello to you."

The plane landed right on schedule. Harry followed the Grangers off the plane and they met in the area just beyond the door they had used to get off the plane. Harry looked up at the information board and nodded.

"Our baggage should be ready in a few minutes," Harry announced.

One older gentleman turned to Harry. "You read Japanese?"

"Yes sir. I speak it and write it as well," Harry replied.

"Jolly good, young man. Keep up on that skill, you could have a career as a translator," the man said.

"I plan on it sir," Harry informed him.

"Good for you. Nice to see a motivated young man these days," the man nodded.

The people in front of them began to move. Dan Granger reached out for Harry and pulled him in closer to them.

"Let the crowd go first, Harry. Plenty of time to get our baggage," Dan said.

They relaxed for a bit and the crowd slowly dwindled away to a few people. Harry went to a nearby trolley rental and got one for them to use. He followed Dan over to the carousel and helped him get the luggage off rotating belt. Dan turned to Harry once everything was on the trolley.

"Where to now, Harry?" Dan asked.

Harry looked up at the overhead signs and pointed in a direction. "That a way. Make sure your passports are ready, bow slightly and then hand it over."

They followed the crowd to the immigrations desk. Harry watched the Grangers clear customs first and then he went through. Nothing happened, and Harry breathed a sigh. He met up with them a few feet away and smiled. "Welcome to Japan!"

"What next, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry smiled as he got a whiff of fresh ramen cooking somewhere and glanced at his watch. "We are a bit early. Are you folks hungry?"

"We are," Emma replied. "What do you have in mind?"

Harry grinned. "Ramen. Fresh, well cooked ramen. Not like the instant ramen you get in the store. Much better than that."

"Lead on then," Dan said.

Harry led them to a ramen stand not too far away and the Grangers ended up getting the sampler specials, four small bowls each with the various flavors available. Harry ordered the chicken bowl and slurped it down while keeping a lookout for the driver that was supposed to meet them and drive them to the hotel.

"These are really good, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes they are," Harry said. "Mom makes better, though."

"I liked the beef one," Dan said a moment later.

Emma set down her fork. "This miso one was great!"

"I liked all four," Hermione said.

Harry cleared away his trash. "I like all four flavors. You'll get a chance to sample more of the Japanese cuisine, trust me on that."

Before Dan could reply, a tall man arrived and bowed to Harry.

[There you are, cousin. I am glad to have found you], he said.

Harry smiled. [It's good to see you, cousin. Is everyone well]?

[They are, and eager to see you and your guests as well], the man said. [Thank you for making it easy to find you].

[That's why I sat here, Ito. To keep a lookout for anyone tasked with coming for me], Harry said.

[Kazuya said to look for you in the ramen stands], Ito laughed. [If you are ready to go, we shall leave].

Ito took command of the trolley with the luggage and they followed him to the curb where the van was waiting for them. Harry and Dan helped with the luggage as Emma and Hermione got into the van. Dan and Harry were next and Ito took the passenger seat.

[Obito]! Harry called out when he saw who was driving. [How are you]?

The man turned to look at Harry and smiled. [I am well, and you]?

[I'm great]! Harry said.

Then Harry switched to English. "Okay, introductions are in order. The man at the wheel is Obito, and the other man here is Ito. Guys, my friends from England the Grangers. Dan, Emma, and Hermione."

"Welcome to Japan!" Ito greeted them.

"And we are off," Obito said from behind the wheel. "Get your cameras ready."

They left the airport, Obito expertly navigating through the traffic.

The meet, greet, and reunion took place at a nice hotel a few miles away. Harry made the introductions and was pleased that had gone well. The plan was to stay here for a day to see some of the sights and then go to the village by way of the Shinkansen, a van to the lake, and then a boat into the village. They headed up to their rooms and settled in. The Grangers got one room, Harry and Hermione were to get another room, and everyone else had their assigned rooms. Hermione liked the room but she was a bit curious as to why the bathroom looked different.

"Why is the tub so small, and the hand shower is in the corner?" she asked Harry.

"This is the way the Japanese have their baths," Harry explained. "You sit on the stool there and get wet, then soap up, and rinse off. Then you go soak in the hot water in the tub. Been that way for centuries."

"Oh," Hermione said. "This is going to be interesting."

"I think you are going to like the experience," Harry grinned. "Don't worry, you will get your privacy. I think your Mom and Dad will enjoy the bath."

Hermione's eyebrows lifted at that comment. Harry smiled as he went back into the room. Hermione followed him a moment later. Both of them looked at the twin beds for a moment and Harry turned to her.

"Which one do you want?" he asked her.

"I'll take the one in the corner," she decided.

"Okay, and I'll take this one by the window," Harry said.

"Um, Harry? Do you… how do you… err… how do you normally sleep?" Hermione blushed as she asked the question.

Harry grinned, as he knew what it was she was asking. This was going to be fun.

"Well, I normally don't wear anything to bed, Hermione. I'm much more comfortable that way. The traditional way is to wear shorts and a short kimono top to bed. It ties off on one side of you. The kimono top is normally a very light cotton and it comes in numerous styles. If and when I do use one, I wear a dark blue one and I did pack one for bed," Harry replied.

"Do girls wear one too?" Hermione asked.

"Sure. I can ask Mom to get you one. I'm thinking a nice peach color would look good on you," Harry said.

"Thank you Harry," a very relieved Hermione said.

They turned to the door when Shizune and Emma arrived.

"Oh good," Harry said when he saw them. "Mom, Hermione's going to need a sleeping outfit."

"That's why we came over," Shizune smiled. "I brought one for Hermione."

She handed over the package and Hermione opened it. It was a peach color and Hermione liked it. She tried on the top and Harry showed her how it tied up closed.

"It's a good fit," Hermione announced.

"Looks good on you, Hermione. Glad you like it," Harry said.

Hermione took off the top and laid it out on the bed along with the shorts.

"So what's the plan now, Mom?" Harry asked.

Shizune nodded. "We go to dinner."

They were up fairly early the next morning. Dinner last night had been interesting for the Grangers as they got to sample a lot of the food that was presented to them. After that they had gone for a walk and saw some of the sights around the hotel there. After that it had been to bed. Harry hadn't been kidding when he said the sleeping kimono was comfortable. Hermione wanted to get a few more of them and Shizune told her she would show Hermione a few places where she could get what she wanted at very reasonable prices. That pleased Emma and Hermione as Dan sighed.

"Yes Dan, shopping," Emma said firmly. "I would like to get a few mementos of our trip here, and we should get something nice for the staff back home."

Dan did his best to look contrite. "Yes dear."

"So where are we off to first?" Harry asked.

Hiroshi smiled. "Well, let's see…"

They spent the day touring a few of the places of interest, even stopping at a Samurai village where they got to see how life was like back in the sixteenth century. They witnessed a staged battle, Noh theatre, and watched how people did things back then. They toured one of the famous Kyushu pottery towns, Emma wanting to get a few of the pieces on their way back home. They headed back to the hotel after a long day. Tomorrow they would be heading to the village and it would be a long journey. There was more to see and do on the way. Hermione spent an hour writing in her diary what she had seen as Harry watched a sumo match on the TV in the hotel room and explained it to Hermione when she looked at what Harry was watching.

"Did you do that when you were younger?" Hermione asked him.

Harry smiled at the memory. "Sure. All of us boys did and I had fun doing it. I really never got serious about it, it was something fun for me to do. Only two or three of us boys took it seriously. I was more into karate and kickboxing."

"I didn't know you did that," Hermione said.

"I go up to the room of requirement once in a great while to practice what little I know," Harry said, knowing it was just an excuse.

"Could you show me something sometime?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "I will as I think you should know something in order to protect yourself. I can show you the basic forms as I don't know that much."

Even as he said those words he knew he was lying to her and that bothered him. He didn't want to hide anything from her and he needed to think of a way to tell her. Harry was sure he could come up with a solution to the problem as he felt he could trust her. He just needed the perfect opportunity to do it.

They arrived at Izumi-zan late afternoon and was greeted by people there. It had barely changed and Harry felt like he had come home. He sighed and immediately felt at peace. In just two days was his thirteenth birthday. He felt happy about being here to celebrate it with friends and family. The Grangers were shown to a small house. Once Harry knew they were very comfortable there he headed to his house. He was happy to be back in a very familiar place. He wondered just how he would do his training without Hermione finding out. He would deal with it when it happened. He would go and do what he had to. He went to sit on the porch outside his room and watched the day change into the night. It was so peaceful and quiet here he wished he didn't have to deal with Dumbledore and his silly games. He turned to see Hermione coming towards him.

"Harry!" she called out. "How does it feel to be back home?"

She joined him on the porch.

"Feels great. I feel so at peace right now," Harry said.

"I like it here," Hermione said. "It's quiet."

Right on cue a bird started up and a few others joined in. Harry turned to Hermione.

"Not always," Harry said.

Hermione had to laugh at that one. They listened to them for a few minutes.

"Is it always like this?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I remember lying awake at night and listening to them sing at night," Harry said. "They weren't the only ones either. Crickets, owls, and other creatures."

"I know I'm not going to forget this vacation. Definitely one to remember," Hermione said. "See you in the morning?"

"Sure. Don't know where I'm going to be," Harry said.

"I'll find you," Hermione said.

And she would, with interesting results.

Hermione showed up at his bedroom porch the next morning to find the old man Kazuya and a Siamese cat. Harry was showing Kazuya his animal forms when she appeared. Harry the cat and Kazuya blinked at her as they had been surprised by her appearance. Hermione saw the cat.

"Good morning sir," she greeted Kazuya.

"Good morning miss," the old man said pleasantly.

Hermione reached out to pet the cat and Harry purred as Hermione petted him.

"Have you seen Harry sir?" she asked politely, studying the cat as she petted it.

Kazuya was trapped. What should he say? Fortunately Hermione's powers of keen observation saved him from having to answer her.

"What an unusual marking," Hermione commented as she spotted the faint white lightening bolt above the right green eye. "It looks like the one Harry has above his right eye. It's kind of faint, but if you look carefully you can see it. I didn't know Siamese cats could have green eyes. They're just as green as Harry's."

Hermione frowned as a thought occurred to her and Harry knew the gig was up as he saw the look in her eyes when she had figured out something.

"Harry?" she whispered softly. "Is that you?"

She blinked in shock as the cat slapped his face with a paw in disgust. "Oh my God…"

A moment later Harry was sitting in front of her. Kazuya quietly excused himself. Harry looked deep into her eyes as he reached out to probe her mental defenses. The second they locked eyes Harry whispered the spell that would get him into her mind. He found himself in the living room of her house. He went into the closest room to discover a library in there. Harry browed the titles and they were titles of things she was actively pursuing. Harry knew that Hermione was a very bright witch and these were the kind of books that she liked. Harry returned back to the living room and wandered through the house until he came back to the ground floor to find a lady standing there.

"Come along Mr. Potter, we have been waiting for you," she said, taking Harry's arm and escorting him through another door, emerging into what looked like the waiting room of a doctor's office, "Dr. Granger has been waiting for you."

Harry suddenly realized that Hermione's true secrets were in here. All he had to do was shake off the lady and find the file room. Harry let her lead him into the hall. As they walked past doors, Harry peeked into each one until he encountered a door that was locked. A peek through the glass insert told him this was the file room, and in those files would be Hermione's secrets. He gently shook off the lady and darted for the door, grasping the doorknob and then something grabbed his body and ferociously shook his ass hard. The lady beamed at him as she picked him up, carried him into a room, and dropped him into the chair. The chair reacted by strapping him into it very tight. Dan Granger appeared a moment later in a blood spattered smock, blood spattered gloves, and a terrifying smile on his face.

"Oho!" he cried, "what do we have here?"

Harry did not like the looks of this. "Ah, well…"

Dan Granger leaned on the right arm of the chair as the lady returned with a covered tray.

"I don't appreciate people trying to break into my lovely daughter's head, sir. Hermione has told me much about you and I really did think well of you… until now. So, tell me, Mister Potter, why are you sneaking round in her head?" Dan Granger said, picking up a drill with a long pointy something attached to it and hitting the power button and making it growl.

Harry began to sweat as he contemplated the truth. "Sir, I really like Hermione. She has such a brilliant mind. She can go anywhere and do anything once she makes up her mind that she's going to do it. The truth is I need to know if she is capable of keeping secrets. There is one other person I'm sure of, and as soon as I test one more mind and his defenses, I'll tell them why I did this."

Dan Granger put up the drill as he nodded. "Very well, Harry Potter. We will trust you for now. The chair will show you the door."

Before Harry could ask how the chair was going to do that, it stood up and began moving for the door. It carried Harry down the hall, out into the waiting room, out the front door of the office, and into the waiting arms of two police officers. The chair released Harry and the two bobbies (what they are called in England) took Harry's arms and dragged him out to the street where the biggest one kicked his butt out into the street. Harry snapped to the moment he landed on the pavement and looked to see Hermione smirk at him. Harry inclined his head at her.

"I have you to thank for that, Mr. Potter. Now, why was it necessary for you to test my mental defenses, Harry?" Hermione demanded.

Harry sighed as he thought about what to say.

"Let me in, Harry!" she demanded.

Harry looked up at her. "You did get in."

Harry stood up and went back into his bedroom and returned with tea for the both of them. He sat down and poured her a cup and then took one for himself. He sipped it as he thought about what he was going to say. He began to talk, starting from what Hiroshi told him of the night Voldemort had attacked him and his parents, killing his parents and attacking him, somehow the killing curse had rebounded from Harry and back to Voldemort, or at least that had been Hiroshi's best guess not having seen the actual incident, only that he found Harry in the crib. Hiroshi had brought Harry here and giving him his Japanese identity. How Kazuya discovered a tiny piece of Voldemort's soul inside the scar and removed it. How he grew up loved and cared for. Then he gave Hermione another shock as he confessed to being ninja and had used his ninja skills to take out death eaters, and ending the tale with how he became a cat.

"So now you know everything, Hermione. You got in. If I didn't trust you I would have obliviated you and fixed your memory. But I can trust you Hermione. I do confess to being a bit devious when I gave you that book on Occlumency, hoping that your very inquisitive mind would learn it and use it. Gotta tell you, your Dad is downright scary in that blood covered smock and holding the drill while looking demented. Scared the crap out of me. There was another reason why I wanted you to learn it. Dumbledore and Snape are mind readers. They would not think twice about breaking into your mind and taking whatever information from you that they thought they could use against me. For some reason Dumbledore wants me under his complete control and I don't know why," Harry said and then related to her what he had discovered from the goblins about what Dumbledore had done to him.

They sat there for some time until Hermione finally spoke up.

"There's lots I can do to help you fight them, Harry. You know how good I am at researching things. We can train together, Harry. I'm willing to learn all you can teach me, Harry. You do not have to go through this alone," she said.

"Are you sure, Hermione? Once Dumbledore finds out you're working with me you will become a target. He will try to find a way to use you to try and control me. He will send Snape after you. The DE's will know you are a close friend and they will try to hurt you if they think they can get away with it. I don't want you to get hurt," Harry said.

"Friends help friends, Harry. I am your best friend, and I do want to help you. I mean that," Hermione pleaded.

Harry sighed and nodded. "Okay. There's not much going on at the moment and I'm not needed until later in the morning. I need to show you my trunk."

"What's in your trunk, Harry?" Hermione asked as they stood up.

Hermione followed Harry into his bedroom through the shoji walls. Harry took her hand into his and reached out for his trunk.

"Trust me on this," Harry said as he laid his hand on the Potter crest in the top of the trunk and whispered something.

Before Hermione had a chance to blink, they were standing inside his trunk. Harry grinned at he shocked expression.

"Welcome to my trunk, Miss Granger. Would you like the tour?" Harry asked.

Hermione could only nod.

Sometime later Harry sat in his chair in his war room and watched Hermione pursuing the wall as he examined everything he had pinned to the wall. Harry wiped the sweat off him after demonstrating his ninja and magical skills in the spell arena. She freaked when Harry demonstrated his apparating skill in the battle. That was her first lesson, apparating, and it took her at least twenty minutes to get it down pat.

"This is incredible, Harry. This must have taken a lot of research," she said, finally turning away from the walls.

"Nearly a year of reading twelve years worth of the Daily Prophet with a big interest in the first war against Voldy," Harry said as he sipped on a bottle of ice cold Gatorade. "The issues detailing the aftermath were very interesting. Lots of witches and wizards claiming to be under the imperious spell."

"You sound like you don't buy that excuse," Hermione sat down in a chair facing him. "I don't either. They were in it with him."

"Yes they were, and Snape was one of them. I don't buy Dumbledore's excuse regarding Snape supposedly having reformed his ways. I get the feeling deep down that Snape is playing Dumbledore for a sucker. The old man's way too trusting and his talk about how we should give the DE's a chance to change their ways doesn't sit well with me either. They enjoy killing and torture too much to give it up. I kill because it's the only way to stop them and I save innocent lives when I do, and before you ask, yes, I have killed DE's. Last time was a few weeks ago when a pair of DE marked werewolves came after me during one of my backpacking trips. Silver is the only way to kill them according to what I've read. I didn't have silver so I did the next best thing. I took their heads. I didn't like it Hermione, but it had to be done. I saved innocent lives doing it. According to what I've discovered, there was a group of werewolves that liked to bite little kids. The parents would reject the kids and having nowhere to go was forced to join the werewolves that turned them. A lot of them couldn't handle that and killed themselves by drinking liquid silver."

Hermione turned very white at that. "Oh Harry."

"I get the dangerous feeling that Voldemort isn't completely gone like everyone says he is. If Kazuya was able to remove that tiny bit of him from my scar, then there must be other bits of him floating around out there. He's going to come back in a new body and he will be twice as bad. I don't know if I am the only one who believes that. I suspect that Dumbledore does and that somehow I get the feeling I'm going to be a key player in all of this. There's a few missing pieces to the puzzle and I need to find those pieces, and I am sure Dumbledore knows more than he's letting on," Harry sighed.

"So what do we do, Harry?" Hermione asked her voice firm with resolve.

"For now we start training. We watch Dumbledore. We start looking for possible allies. I'm thinking Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, the Weasley twins, and possibly others. Long list, but we start out with those people," Harry said.

"What about Ron Weasley?" Hermione asked.

"Not a chance. Molly and Arthur Weasley pulled him out of Hogwarts. They are currently on a trip to Egypt to visit Bill Weasley. According to Fred, Bill is the number one ward and curse breaker for Gringotts Bank. His job is to go and assist treasure hunting teams. I'd hire him to ward any house I owned in a heartbeat. Let's get out of here before they start searching for us," Harry said.

They left the trunk and headed outside to look for everybody and found them gathered in the center of the village. Emma and Dan were being held by a few of the ninja there. Two of them grabbed Hermione and before Harry could react he found himself facing several naginatas, long poles with blades on them.

"What's going on here?" Harry asked calmly as one of the ninja tapped Hermione on the side of her neck in a nerve cluster knocking her out.

Harry watched the ninja carry her off.

"You revealed secrets," Hamura said. "You must be punished. If you can defeat your former brothers then you will live and so will they but you will never be Kokura Ninja for the rest of your life."

"If you harm them in any way, shape, or form, I will kill all of you," Harry said calmly. "That's a promise."

The ninja with the spears pointed in the direction that Harry was to go. He started down a path he knew so well and they walked for at least a half hour until they approached a cave. They pointed to the cave and Harry knew he was to go inside. He nodded to Hamura and headed inside. Once Harry passed the threshold the heavy wood door closed behind him. One of the ninja turned to Hamura.

[Will he make it master]? He asked.

Hamura nodded. [If he is the ninja he is then he shall pass the Kokura Ninja Trials].

[What do we do about the girl and her parents]? The ninja asked.

[That is Kazuya's task. He will handle that], Hamura said.

[What if the girl tells her parents everything]? The ninja asked again.

He sighed. [It is expected. She has a strong mind, she has learned how to protect it. With a little help from her and Kazuya they will learn how to protect their minds too. They do not need to be magical to learn how to protect thier minds. They will be a very valuable asset to Harry].

Harry mentally prepared himself for battle as he moved forward. It was extremely dark in the cave as he moved forward. He slipped into Getsumi no Michi seeking it's help in navigating the cave and to guide him in the coming battle. He wondered why they thought he had become traitor when they should have known that Harry would never betray them. Hermione had figured it all out on her own. Suddenly something flew at him in the dark and Harry sensed the attack long before it got to him. Harry blocked the strike and initiated one of his own, and the battle was on. Harry moved through the dark cave fighting for every step of the way and succeeding. Finally he emerged from the cave to fins himself inside a wood enclosure. Harry was suddenly reminded of the Chuck Norris movie where the actor had to fight ninjas in various sections of a wooden maze. Naturally he won, but that was the movies. This was real life. Harry stared at one of the ninja as he stepped through the door into the next section. The ninja moved the moment Harry was clear of the door, using his fingers for claws as he initiated the attack. Harry reacted as he had trained himself to, by reacting to the attack, blocking it and doing one of his own in seconds. To anyone watching Harry appeared to be moving very fast, faster than humanly possible. To Harry they were slow, almost in a relaxed fashion. This was where Harry's constant training was now paying off. Harry pushed the man until his back was pressed into the wall on the other side. The man was hard pressed to defend himself and then in a moment of hesitation, got knocked out cold. Harry turned to see another wood door open to reveal the next area. He stepped through and he observed a ninja-to stuck into the ground before him in the center. Harry went to it and brought the blade up behind him tight against his body. His opponent dropped down from the top of the wall and that fight was on. Harry proved just how good he was with the ninja-to, defeating his opponent. Harry kept moving through each section proving his skill with each weapon until he got to the last section that was very big. A dozen ninja came into the ring through different door s with different weapons. Harry inclined his head to them and that fight started. Now Harry was going to pull out all the stops and reveal just how hard he had trained and he did, taking them all on and using every skill possible including his apparating skill and his cat form, using his cat claws to shred them up, taking everybody completely by surprise. Harry managed to defeat all twelve of the ninja set against him. He picked up a ninja-to and advanced on the man closest to him.

[Enough. Stay your hand], the voice called out.

Harry turned to see and old man enter the ring.

[You have more than proved your worth to the Kokura Ninja, Tadeo. Today you have passed the Kokura Ninja Trials. You are now truly a Kokura Ninja for life], the old man said. [Come. There is much to be discussed].

"Harry!" Hermione called out. "We're okay! We're safe!"

Harry's shoulders sagged in relief.

In front of the council house that evening after the evening meal, Harry got the explanation he hoped for.

"They wanted to test you Harry," Kazuya said. "When you revealed your cat for to Hermione it gave us the perfect opening we needed to draw you into the testing grounds. The one you went through before you left for Hogwarts was for the rank of Genin. Today we are honored to confer upon you the rank of Jonin. You earned it Harry because you proved that you had skill. Using your apparition and cat form was a brilliant bit of strategy. Really shocked all of us."

"It was well done, Harry. Threw all of us for a loop, little brother!" Ichiro laughed at the memory. Well done!"

"Use those skills wisely, Harry. Use them at the right moments to throw the enemy off balance so that you may defeat them," the old man said.

Harry nodded. "I will sir."

"Good. Now you have one more job before you take leave of us, and that is to help teach Emma and Dan how to protect their minds from the nosy Dumbledork," he said. "This man must not know your secrets until you strike him down for his crimes against you. Your friend Hermione says it is fairly easy to do. One does not need to be magical to learn how to protect their minds."

Harry bowed to the man. "Then I shall see to it."

"Very good. You are now, and ever shall be Kokura Ninja. Be worthy of the honor," the old man said.

"I will sir," Harry replied as he bowed once more.

"And one more thing," the old man said with a slight smile on his face.

Harry looked up. "What is it sir?"

The old man smiled. "Happy thirteenth birthday, Tadeo. May you live a long and prosperous life."

Shizune appeared with a cake, and the party got started. Harry would later tell people that it was the best day ever in his life.

To Be Continued

Next Up: the Prisoner of Azkaban!


End file.
